Devices, Methods, and Graphical User Interfaces for Interacting with Three-Dimensional Environments

ABSTRACT

A system displays, via the first display generation component: a first view of a computer-generated three-dimensional environment, including a representation of a physical environment, and a representation of one or more projections of light. The representation of the one or more projections of light has an appearance that corresponds to a spatial relationship between first virtual content present in the computer-generated three-dimensional environment and the representation of the physical environment. The system displays animated changes of the representation of the one or more projections of light and displays alterations of an appearance of a representation of a first surface in the physical environment in accordance with the animated changes of the representation of the one or more projections of light.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/483,717, filed Sep. 23, 2021, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application 63/082,918, filed Sep. 24, 2020, whichare both incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to computer systems with a displaygeneration component and one or more input devices that provide computergenerated reality (CGR) experiences, including but not limited toelectronic devices that provide virtual reality and mixed realityexperiences via a display.

BACKGROUND

The development of computer systems for augmented reality has increasedsignificantly in recent years. Example augmented reality environmentsinclude at least some virtual elements that replace or augment thephysical world. Input devices, such as cameras, controllers, joysticks,touch-sensitive surfaces, and touch-screen displays for computer systemsand other electronic computing devices are used to interact withvirtual/augmented reality environments. Example virtual elements includevirtual objects include digital images, video, text, icons, and controlelements such as buttons and other graphics.

But methods and interfaces for interacting with environments thatinclude at least some virtual elements (e.g., applications, augmentedreality environments, mixed reality environments, and virtual realityenvironments) are cumbersome, inefficient, and limited. For example,systems that provide insufficient feedback for performing actionsassociated with virtual objects, systems that require a series of inputsto achieve a desired outcome in an augmented reality environment, andsystems in which manipulation of virtual objects are complex, tediousand error-prone, create a significant cognitive burden on a user, anddetract from the experience with the virtual/augmented realityenvironment. In addition, these methods take longer than necessary,thereby wasting energy. This latter consideration is particularlyimportant in battery-operated devices.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, there is a need for computer systems with improved methodsand interfaces for providing computer-generated experiences to usersthat make interaction with the computer systems more efficient andintuitive for a user. Such methods and interfaces optionally complementor replace conventional methods for providing computer-generated realityexperiences to users. Such methods and interfaces reduce the number,extent, and/or nature of the inputs from a user by helping the user tounderstand the connection between provided inputs and device responsesto the inputs, thereby creating a more efficient human-machineinterface. Such methods and interfaces also improve the user'sexperience, e.g., by reducing mistakes, interruptions, and time delays,when the user is engaged in the virtual reality experience and/or themixed reality experience provided by the computer systems.

The above deficiencies and other problems associated with interfaces forproviding computer generated experiences are reduced or eliminated bythe disclosed computer systems and methods. In particular, wheninteracting with a computer-generated three-dimensional environment, theuser may desire some assistance, e.g., in resolving queries and/orperforming operations in the three-dimensional environment. Accordingly,in some embodiments, systems and methods for enabling interaction with avirtual assistant within the three-dimensional environment aredisclosed, where the virtual assistant provides information in responseto detecting input from the user (e.g., verbal communications, gaze,gestures, touch inputs, etc.) that corresponds to a request to interactwith the virtual assistant.

In accordance with some embodiments, a method is performed at acomputing system including a first display generation component and oneor more input devices. The method includes displaying a first view of afirst computer-generated three-dimensional environment. The first viewof the first computer-generated three-dimensional environment includes arepresentation of a respective portion of a physical environment, and afirst representation of one or more projections of light in a firstportion of the first computer-generated three-dimensional environment.The first representation of the one or more projections of light has anappearance that indicates a spatial relationship between a virtualassistant present in the first computer-generated three-dimensionalenvironment. The method further includes, while displaying the firstview of the first computer-generated three-dimensional environment andthe first representation of the one or more projections of light,detecting, from a first user, a query directed to the virtual assistant.In response to detecting the query directed to the virtual assistant,displaying animated changes of the first representation of the one ormore projections of light in the first portion of the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment, wherein displaying theanimated changes include displaying a second representation of the oneor more projections of light that is focused on a first sub-portion ofthe first portion of the first computer-generated three-dimensionalenvironment. The method further includes, after displaying the animatedchanges of the first representation of the one or more projections oflight, displaying content responding to the query at a positioncorresponding to the first sub-portion of the first portion of the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment.

In accordance with some embodiments, a computer system includes or is incommunication with a display generation component (e.g., a display, aprojector, a head-mounted display, etc.), one or more input devices(e.g., one or more cameras, a touch-sensitive surface, optionally one ormore sensors to detect intensities of contacts with the touch-sensitivesurface), optionally one or more tactile output generators, one or moreprocessors, and memory storing one or more programs; the one or moreprograms are configured to be executed by the one or more processors andthe one or more programs include instructions for performing or causingperformance of the operations of any of the methods described herein. Inaccordance with some embodiments, a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium has stored therein instructions, which, when executed bya computer system with a display generation component, one or more inputdevices (e.g., one or more cameras, a touch-sensitive surface,optionally one or more sensors to detect intensities of contacts withthe touch-sensitive surface), and optionally one or more tactile outputgenerators, cause the device to perform or cause performance of theoperations of any of the methods described herein. In accordance withsome embodiments, a graphical user interface on a computer system with adisplay generation component, one or more input devices (e.g., one ormore cameras, a touch-sensitive surface, optionally one or more sensorsto detect intensities of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface),optionally one or more tactile output generators, a memory, and one ormore processors to execute one or more programs stored in the memoryincludes one or more of the elements displayed in any of the methodsdescribed herein, which are updated in response to inputs, as describedin any of the methods described herein. In accordance with someembodiments, a computer system includes: a display generation component,one or more input devices (e.g., one or more cameras, a touch-sensitivesurface, optionally one or more sensors to detect intensities ofcontacts with the touch-sensitive surface), and optionally one or moretactile output generators; and means for performing or causingperformance of the operations of any of the methods described herein. Inaccordance with some embodiments, an information processing apparatus,for use in a computer system with a display generation component, one ormore input devices (e.g., one or more cameras, a touch-sensitivesurface, optionally one or more sensors to detect intensities ofcontacts with the touch-sensitive surface), and optionally one or moretactile output generators, includes means for performing or causingperformance of the operations of any of the methods described herein.

Thus, computer systems with display generation components are providedwith improved methods and interfaces for interacting with athree-dimensional environment and facilitating the user's user of thecomputer systems when interacting with the three-dimensionalenvironment, thereby increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, and usersafety and satisfaction with such computer systems. Such methods andinterfaces may complement or replace conventional methods forinteracting with a three-dimensional environment and facilitating theuser's use of the computer systems when interacting with thethree-dimensional environment.

Note that the various embodiments described above can be combined withany other embodiments described herein. The features and advantagesdescribed in the specification are not all inclusive and, in particular,many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings, specification, andclaims. Moreover, it should be noted that the language used in thespecification has been principally selected for readability andinstructional purposes, and may not have been selected to delineate orcircumscribe the inventive subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the various described embodiments,reference should be made to the Description of Embodiments below, inconjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numeralsrefer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an operating environment of acomputer system for providing CGR experiences in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a controller of a computer systemthat is configured to manage and coordinate a CGR experience for theuser in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a display generation component ofa computer system that is configured to provide a visual component ofthe CGR experience to the user in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a hand tracking unit of acomputer system that is configured to capture gesture inputs of the userin accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an eye tracking unit of acomputer system that is configured to capture gaze inputs of the user inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a glint-assisted gaze trackingpipeline in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 7A-7F are block diagrams that illustrate display and movement of arepresentation of virtual illumination associated with a virtualassistant in a three-dimensional environment in response to userinteraction with the virtual assistant, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method of displaying and moving arepresentation of virtual illumination associated with a virtualassistant in a three-dimensional environment in response to userinteraction with the virtual assistant, in accordance with someembodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure relates to user interfaces for providing acomputer generated reality (CGR) experience to a user, in accordancewith some embodiments.

The systems, methods, and GUIs described herein improve user interfaceinteractions with virtual/augmented reality environments in multipleways.

In some embodiments, a computer system provides a virtual assistant in athree-dimensional environment (e.g., augmented reality environment,augmented virtuality environment, etc.) to respond to a user's requestfor information and/or performance of an operation (e.g., a question, asearch query, a command, etc.). When providing visual content (e.g.,user interface objects, avatars, icons, visual feedback regardingperformance of an operation, media content, search results, suggestedapplications, data items, documents, messages, images, etc.)corresponding to the requested information or performance of operationin the three-dimensional environment, the computer system displays andchanges a representation of virtual illumination emanating from aposition or region of the virtual assistant to direct and focus theuser's attention into a portion of the three-dimensional environment atwhich the visual content will be displayed (e.g., by shrinking a spatialextent of a light spot of the virtual illumination on a representationof a physical surface, by transforming from general illumination totargeted illumination in the three-dimensional environment, etc.). Insome embodiments, the representation of virtual illumination changes thevisual appearance of the representations of physical surfaces in thethree-dimensional environment to simulate illumination of the physicalsurfaces by a light source that is located at a location in the physicalenvironment corresponding to the position of the virtual assistant inthe three-dimensional environment. The appearance (e.g., shape,brightness, color, spatial extent, intensity distribution, movement,etc.) of the representation of the virtual illumination changes toreflect the current spatial relationship between the virtual assistantand the representations of physical surfaces in the three-dimensionalenvironment. In some embodiments, the appearance (e.g., shape,brightness, color, spatial extent, intensity distribution, movement,etc.) of the representation of the virtual illumination also changes toreflect the current state of the virtual assistant in the processes ofbeing activated, receiving a user input, processing the user input andpreparing a response, and presenting the response to the user input,etc. In some embodiments, the virtual assistant moves into a respectiveportion of the three-dimensional environment that is within the field ofview provided by the three-dimensional environment after the user'srequest for interaction (e.g., summoning the virtual assistant, asking aquestion, giving a command, etc.) has been received, and the computersystem displays movement and changes in the representation of thevirtual illumination in the currently displayed view of thethree-dimensional environment to indicate the movement of the virtualassistant toward the respective portion of the three-dimensionalenvironment, even before the virtual assistant enters the respectiveportion of the three-dimensional environment. In some embodiments, thevirtual assistant is not embodied in a concrete virtual object (e.g., anavatar, an icon, a three-dimensional object, etc.) visible in thethree-dimensional environment, and its presence in the three-dimensionalenvironment is indicated by the changes in the virtual illuminationassociated with the virtual assistant. Using changing shape andappearance of the representation of virtual illumination associated witha virtual assistant to indicate a spatial relationship of the virtualassistant relative to representations of physical surfaces in thethree-dimensional environment allows the presence of the virtualassistant in the three-dimensional environment to be less visuallydisruptive to the view of the three-dimensional environment, andprovides a more realistic and integrated visual experience when the usercalls on the virtual assistant while engaged in anothercomputer-generated experience provided in the three-dimensionalenvironment. In some embodiments, it is more advantageous to use arepresentation of virtual illumination that changes shape and appearanceto indicate the state of the virtual assistant and/or direct the user'sattention to the location at which the visual content corresponding tothe user's request will be displayed than to require the user tocontinue to look at the virtual assistant or visually follow a smallcursor or pointer generated by the virtual assistant until the visualcontent is displayed. Using virtual illumination as visual feedback andvisual guidance for interaction with a virtual assistant, as describedherein, enables the user to continue to interact with thethree-dimensional environment and/or guide the virtual assistant toprovide the virtual content at a position chosen by the user, withouthaving to drag the virtual assistant or keeping an eye on the virtualassistant when searching for the suitable position in thethree-dimensional environment for the visual content. As such, thedisclosed methods and interfaces reduce the number, extent, and/ornature of the inputs from a user to achieve a desired outcome (e.g.,interaction with the virtual assistant to obtain requested informationor performance of requested operation), thereby creating a moreefficient human-machine interface. It also reduces the impact of timedelay and unnecessary visual interruptions, when the user invokes thevirtual assistant while continuing to engage in a computer-generatedexperience provided by the computer system.

FIGS. 1-6 provide a description of example computer systems forproviding CGR experiences to users. FIGS. 7A-7F are block diagrams thatillustrate display and movement of virtual illumination associated witha virtual assistant in a three-dimensional environment in response touser interaction with the virtual assistant, in accordance with someembodiments. The user interfaces in FIGS. 7A-7F are used to illustratethe processes in FIG. 8 .

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 , the CGR experience is providedto the user via an operating environment 100 that includes a computersystem 101. The computer system 101 includes a controller 110 (e.g.,processors of a portable electronic device or a remote server), adisplay generation component 120 (e.g., a head-mounted device (HMD), adisplay, a projector, a touch-screen, etc.), one or more input devices125 (e.g., an eye tracking device 130, a hand tracking device 140, otherinput devices 150), one or more output devices 155 (e.g., speakers 160,tactile output generators 170, and other output devices 180), one ormore sensors 190 (e.g., image sensors, light sensors, depth sensors,tactile sensors, orientation sensors, proximity sensors, temperaturesensors, location sensors, motion sensors, velocity sensors, etc.), andoptionally one or more peripheral devices 195 (e.g., home appliances,wearable devices, etc.). In some embodiments, one or more of the inputdevices 125, output devices 155, sensors 190, and peripheral devices 195are integrated with the display generation component 120 (e.g., in ahead-mounted device or a handheld device).

When describing a CGR experience, various terms are used todifferentially refer to several related but distinct environments thatthe user may sense and/or with which a user may interact (e.g., withinputs detected by a computer system 101 generating the CGR experiencethat cause the computer system generating the CGR experience to generateaudio, visual, and/or tactile feedback corresponding to various inputsprovided to the computer system 101). The following is a subset of theseterms:

Physical environment: A physical environment refers to a physical worldthat people can sense and/or interact with without aid of electronicsystems. Physical environments, such as a physical park, includephysical articles, such as physical trees, physical buildings, andphysical people. People can directly sense and/or interact with thephysical environment, such as through sight, touch, hearing, taste, andsmell.

Computer-generated reality: In contrast, a computer-generated reality(CGR) environment refers to a wholly or partially simulated environmentthat people sense and/or interact with via an electronic system. In CGR,a subset of a person's physical motions, or representations thereof, aretracked, and, in response, one or more characteristics of one or morevirtual objects simulated in the CGR environment are adjusted in amanner that comports with at least one law of physics. For example, aCGR system may detect a person's head turning and, in response, adjustgraphical content and an acoustic field presented to the person in amanner similar to how such views and sounds would change in a physicalenvironment. In some situations (e.g., for accessibility reasons),adjustments to characteristic(s) of virtual object(s) in a CGRenvironment may be made in response to representations of physicalmotions (e.g., vocal commands). A person may sense and/or interact witha CGR object using any one of their senses, including sight, sound,touch, taste, and smell. For example, a person may sense and/or interactwith audio objects that create 3D or spatial audio environment thatprovides the perception of point audio sources in 3D space. In anotherexample, audio objects may enable audio transparency, which selectivelyincorporates ambient sounds from the physical environment with orwithout computer-generated audio. In some CGR environments, a person maysense and/or interact only with audio objects.

Examples of CGR include virtual reality and mixed reality.

Virtual reality: A virtual reality (VR) environment refers to asimulated environment that is designed to be based entirely oncomputer-generated sensory inputs for one or more senses. A VRenvironment comprises a plurality of virtual objects with which a personmay sense and/or interact. For example, computer-generated imagery oftrees, buildings, and avatars representing people are examples ofvirtual objects. A person may sense and/or interact with virtual objectsin the VR environment through a simulation of the person's presencewithin the computer-generated environment, and/or through a simulationof a subset of the person's physical movements within thecomputer-generated environment.

Mixed reality: In contrast to a VR environment, which is designed to bebased entirely on computer-generated sensory inputs, a mixed reality(MR) environment refers to a simulated environment that is designed toincorporate sensory inputs from the physical environment, or arepresentation thereof, in addition to including computer-generatedsensory inputs (e.g., virtual objects). On a virtuality continuum, amixed reality environment is anywhere between, but not including, awholly physical environment at one end and virtual reality environmentat the other end. In some MR environments, computer-generated sensoryinputs may respond to changes in sensory inputs from the physicalenvironment. Also, some electronic systems for presenting an MRenvironment may track location and/or orientation with respect to thephysical environment to enable virtual objects to interact with realobjects (that is, physical articles from the physical environment orrepresentations thereof). For example, a system may account formovements so that a virtual tree appears stationery with respect to thephysical ground.

Examples of mixed realities include augmented reality and augmentedvirtuality.

Augmented reality: An augmented reality (AR) environment refers to asimulated environment in which one or more virtual objects aresuperimposed over a physical environment, or a representation thereof.For example, an electronic system for presenting an AR environment mayhave a transparent or translucent display through which a person maydirectly view the physical environment. The system may be configured topresent virtual objects on the transparent or translucent display, sothat a person, using the system, perceives the virtual objectssuperimposed over the physical environment. Alternatively, a system mayhave an opaque display and one or more imaging sensors that captureimages or video of the physical environment, which are representationsof the physical environment. The system composites the images or videowith virtual objects, and presents the composition on the opaquedisplay. A person, using the system, indirectly views the physicalenvironment by way of the images or video of the physical environment,and perceives the virtual objects superimposed over the physicalenvironment. As used herein, a video of the physical environment shownon an opaque display is called “pass-through video,” meaning a systemuses one or more image sensor(s) to capture images of the physicalenvironment, and uses those images in presenting the AR environment onthe opaque display. Further alternatively, a system may have aprojection system that projects virtual objects into the physicalenvironment, for example, as a hologram or on a physical surface, sothat a person, using the system, perceives the virtual objectssuperimposed over the physical environment. An augmented realityenvironment also refers to a simulated environment in which arepresentation of a physical environment is transformed bycomputer-generated sensory information. For example, in providingpass-through video, a system may transform one or more sensor images toimpose a select perspective (e.g., viewpoint) different than theperspective captured by the imaging sensors. As another example, arepresentation of a physical environment may be transformed bygraphically modifying (e.g., enlarging) portions thereof, such that themodified portion may be representative but not photorealistic versionsof the originally captured images. As a further example, arepresentation of a physical environment may be transformed bygraphically eliminating or obfuscating portions thereof.

Augmented virtuality: An augmented virtuality (AV) environment refers toa simulated environment in which a virtual or computer generatedenvironment incorporates one or more sensory inputs from the physicalenvironment. The sensory inputs may be representations of one or morecharacteristics of the physical environment. For example, an AV park mayhave virtual trees and virtual buildings, but people with facesphotorealistically reproduced from images taken of physical people. Asanother example, a virtual object may adopt a shape or color of aphysical article imaged by one or more imaging sensors. As a furtherexample, a virtual object may adopt shadows consistent with the positionof the sun in the physical environment.

Hardware: There are many different types of electronic systems thatenable a person to sense and/or interact with various CGR environments.Examples include head mounted systems, projection-based systems,heads-up displays (HUDs), vehicle windshields having integrated displaycapability, windows having integrated display capability, displaysformed as lenses designed to be placed on a person's eyes (e.g., similarto contact lenses), headphones/earphones, speaker arrays, input systems(e.g., wearable or handheld controllers with or without hapticfeedback), smartphones, tablets, and desktop/laptop computers. A headmounted system may have one or more speaker(s) and an integrated opaquedisplay. Alternatively, a head mounted system may be configured toaccept an external opaque display (e.g., a smartphone). The head mountedsystem may incorporate one or more imaging sensors to capture images orvideo of the physical environment, and/or one or more microphones tocapture audio of the physical environment. Rather than an opaquedisplay, a head mounted system may have a transparent or translucentdisplay. The transparent or translucent display may have a mediumthrough which light representative of images is directed to a person'seyes. The display may utilize digital light projection, OLEDs, LEDs,uLEDs, liquid crystal on silicon, laser scanning light source, or anycombination of these technologies. The medium may be an opticalwaveguide, a hologram medium, an optical combiner, an optical reflector,or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the transparent ortranslucent display may be configured to become opaque selectively.Projection-based systems may employ retinal projection technology thatprojects graphical images onto a person's retina. Projection systemsalso may be configured to project virtual objects into the physicalenvironment, for example, as a hologram or on a physical surface. Insome embodiments, the controller 110 is configured to manage andcoordinate a CGR experience for the user. In some embodiments, thecontroller 110 includes a suitable combination of software, firmware,and/or hardware. The controller 110 is described in greater detail belowwith respect to FIG. 2 . In some embodiments, the controller 110 is acomputing device that is local or remote relative to the scene 105(e.g., a physical setting/environment). For example, the controller 110is a local server located within the scene 105. In another example, thecontroller 110 is a remote server located outside of the scene 105(e.g., a cloud server, central server, etc.). In some embodiments, thecontroller 110 is communicatively coupled with the display generationcomponent 120 (e.g., an HMD, a display, a projector, a touch-screen,etc.) via one or more wired or wireless communication channels 144(e.g., BLUETOOTH, IEEE 802.11x, IEEE 802.16x, IEEE 802.3x, etc.). Inanother example, the controller 110 is included within the enclosure(e.g., a physical housing) of the display generation component 120(e.g., an HMD, or a portable electronic device that includes a displayand one or more processors, etc.), one or more of the input devices 125,one or more of the output devices 155, one or more of the sensors 190,and/or one or more of the peripheral devices 195, or share the samephysical enclosure or support structure with one or more of the above.

In some embodiments, the display generation component 120 is configuredto provide the CGR experience (e.g., at least a visual component of theCGR experience) to the user. In some embodiments, the display generationcomponent 120 includes a suitable combination of software, firmware,and/or hardware. The display generation component 120 is described ingreater detail below with respect to FIG. 3 . In some embodiments, thefunctionalities of the controller 110 are provided by and/or combinedwith the display generation component 120.

According to some embodiments, the display generation component 120provides a CGR experience to the user while the user is virtually and/orphysically present within the scene 105.

In some embodiments, the display generation component is worn on a partof the user's body (e.g., on his/her head, on his/her hand, etc.). Assuch, the display generation component 120 includes one or more CGRdisplays provided to display the CGR content. For example, in variousembodiments, the display generation component 120 encloses thefield-of-view of the user. In some embodiments, the display generationcomponent 120 is a handheld device (such as a smartphone or tablet)configured to present CGR content, and the user holds the device with adisplay directed towards the field-of-view of the user and a cameradirected towards the scene 105. In some embodiments, the handheld deviceis optionally placed within an enclosure that is worn on the head of theuser. In some embodiments, the handheld device is optionally placed on asupport (e.g., a tripod) in front of the user. In some embodiments, thedisplay generation component 120 is a CGR chamber, enclosure, or roomconfigured to present CGR content in which the user does not wear orhold the display generation component 120. Many user interfacesdescribed with reference to one type of hardware for displaying CGRcontent (e.g., a handheld device or a device on a tripod) could beimplemented on another type of hardware for displaying CGR content(e.g., an HMD or other wearable computing device). For example, a userinterface showing interactions with CGR content triggered based oninteractions that happen in a space in front of a handheld or tripodmounted device could similarly be implemented with an HMD where theinteractions happen in a space in front of the HMD and the responses ofthe CGR content are displayed via the HMD. Similarly, a user interfaceshowing interactions with CGR content triggered based on movement of ahandheld or tripod mounted device relative to the physical environment(e.g., the scene 105 or a part of the user's body (e.g., the user'seye(s), head, or hand)) could similarly be implemented with an HMD wherethe movement is caused by movement of the HMD relative to the physicalenvironment (e.g., the scene 105 or a part of the user's body (e.g., theuser's eye(s), head, or hand)).

While pertinent features of the operation environment 100 are shown inFIG. 1 , those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate from thepresent disclosure that various other features have not been illustratedfor the sake of brevity and so as not to obscure more pertinent aspectsof the example embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of the controller 110 inaccordance with some embodiments. While certain specific features areillustrated, those skilled in the art will appreciate from the presentdisclosure that various other features have not been illustrated for thesake of brevity, and so as not to obscure more pertinent aspects of theembodiments disclosed herein. To that end, as a non-limiting example, insome embodiments, the controller 110 includes one or more processingunits 202 (e.g., microprocessors, application-specificintegrated-circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs),processing cores, and/or the like), one or more input/output (I/O)devices 206, one or more communication interfaces 208 (e.g., universalserial bus (USB), FIREWIRE, THUNDERBOLT, IEEE 802.3x, IEEE 802.11x, IEEE802.16x, global system for mobile communications (GSM), code divisionmultiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), globalpositioning system (GPS), infrared (IR), BLUETOOTH, ZIGBEE, and/or thelike type interface), one or more programming (e.g., I/O) interfaces210, a memory 220, and one or more communication buses 204 forinterconnecting these and various other components.

In some embodiments, the one or more communication buses 204 includecircuitry that interconnects and controls communications between systemcomponents. In some embodiments, the one or more I/O devices 206 includeat least one of a keyboard, a mouse, a touchpad, a joystick, one or moremicrophones, one or more speakers, one or more image sensors, one ormore displays, and/or the like.

The memory 220 includes high-speed random-access memory, such as dynamicrandom-access memory (DRAM), static random-access memory (SRAM),double-data-rate random-access memory (DDR RAM), or other random-accesssolid-state memory devices. In some embodiments, the memory 220 includesnon-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices,optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or othernon-volatile solid-state storage devices. The memory 220 optionallyincludes one or more storage devices remotely located from the one ormore processing units 202. The memory 220 comprises a non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium. In some embodiments, the memory 220 orthe non-transitory computer readable storage medium of the memory 220stores the following programs, modules and data structures, or a subsetthereof including an optional operating system 230 and a CGR experiencemodule 240.

The operating system 230 includes instructions for handling variousbasic system services and for performing hardware dependent tasks. Insome embodiments, the CGR experience module 240 is configured to manageand coordinate one or more CGR experiences for one or more users (e.g.,a single CGR experience for one or more users, or multiple CGRexperiences for respective groups of one or more users). To that end, invarious embodiments, the CGR experience module 240 includes a dataobtaining unit 242, a tracking unit 244, a coordination unit 246, and adata transmitting unit 248.

In some embodiments, the data obtaining unit 242 is configured to obtaindata (e.g., presentation data, interaction data, sensor data, locationdata, etc.) from at least the display generation component 120 of FIG. 1, and optionally one or more of the input devices 125, output devices155, sensors 190, and/or peripheral devices 195. To that end, in variousembodiments, the data obtaining unit 242 includes instructions and/orlogic therefor, and heuristics and metadata therefor.

In some embodiments, the tracking unit 244 is configured to map thescene 105 and to track the position/location of at least the displaygeneration component 120 with respect to the scene 105 of FIG. 1 , andoptionally, to one or more of the input devices 125, output devices 155,sensors 190, and/or peripheral devices 195. To that end, in variousembodiments, the tracking unit 244 includes instructions and/or logictherefor, and heuristics and metadata therefor. In some embodiments, thetracking unit 244 includes hand tracking unit 245 and/or eye trackingunit 243. In some embodiments, the hand tracking unit 245 is configuredto track the position/location of one or more portions of the user'shands, and/or motions of one or more portions of the user's hands withrespect to the scene 105 of FIG. 1 , relative to the display generationcomponent 120, and/or relative to a coordinate system defined relativeto the user's hand. The hand tracking unit 245 is described in greaterdetail below with respect to FIG. 4 . In some embodiments, the eyetracking unit 243 is configured to track the position and movement ofthe user's gaze (or more broadly, the user's eyes, face, or head) withrespect to the scene 105 (e.g., with respect to the physical environmentand/or to the user (e.g., the user's hand)) or with respect to the CGRcontent displayed via the display generation component 120. The eyetracking unit 243 is described in greater detail below with respect toFIG. 5 .

In some embodiments, the coordination unit 246 is configured to manageand coordinate the CGR experience presented to the user by the displaygeneration component 120, and optionally, by one or more of the outputdevices 155 and/or peripheral devices 195. To that end, in variousembodiments, the coordination unit 246 includes instructions and/orlogic therefor, and heuristics and metadata therefor.

In some embodiments, the data transmitting unit 248 is configured totransmit data (e.g., presentation data, location data, etc.) to at leastthe display generation component 120, and optionally, to one or more ofthe input devices 125, output devices 155, sensors 190, and/orperipheral devices 195. To that end, in various embodiments, the datatransmitting unit 248 includes instructions and/or logic therefor, andheuristics and metadata therefor.

Although the data obtaining unit 242, the tracking unit 244 (e.g.,including the eye tracking unit 243 and the hand tracking unit 245), thecoordination unit 246, and the data transmitting unit 248 are shown asresiding on a single device (e.g., the controller 110), it should beunderstood that in other embodiments, any combination of the dataobtaining unit 242, the tracking unit 244 (e.g., including the eyetracking unit 243 and the hand tracking unit 245), the coordination unit246, and the data transmitting unit 248 may be located in separatecomputing devices.

Moreover, FIG. 2 is intended more as functional description of thevarious features that may be present in a particular implementation asopposed to a structural schematic of the embodiments described herein.As recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, items shownseparately could be combined and some items could be separated. Forexample, some functional modules shown separately in FIG. 2 could beimplemented in a single module and the various functions of singlefunctional blocks could be implemented by one or more functional blocksin various embodiments. The actual number of modules and the division ofparticular functions and how features are allocated among them will varyfrom one implementation to another and, in some embodiments, depends inpart on the particular combination of hardware, software, and/orfirmware chosen for a particular implementation.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of the display generationcomponent 120 in accordance with some embodiments. While certainspecific features are illustrated, those skilled in the art willappreciate from the present disclosure that various other features havenot been illustrated for the sake of brevity, and so as not to obscuremore pertinent aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein. To that end,as a non-limiting example, in some embodiments the HMD 120 includes oneor more processing units 302 (e.g., microprocessors, ASICs, FPGAs, GPUs,CPUs, processing cores, and/or the like), one or more input/output (I/O)devices and sensors 306, one or more communication interfaces 308 (e.g.,USB, FIREWIRE, THUNDERBOLT, IEEE 802.3x, IEEE 802.11x, IEEE 802.16x,GSM, CDMA, TDMA, GPS, IR, BLUETOOTH, ZIGBEE, and/or the like typeinterface), one or more programming (e.g., I/O) interfaces 310, one ormore CGR displays 312, one or more optional interior- and/orexterior-facing image sensors 314, a memory 320, and one or morecommunication buses 304 for interconnecting these and various othercomponents.

In some embodiments, the one or more communication buses 304 includecircuitry that interconnects and controls communications between systemcomponents. In some embodiments, the one or more I/O devices and sensors306 include at least one of an inertial measurement unit (IMU), anaccelerometer, a gyroscope, a thermometer, one or more physiologicalsensors (e.g., blood pressure monitor, heart rate monitor, blood oxygensensor, blood glucose sensor, etc.), one or more microphones, one ormore speakers, a haptics engine, one or more depth sensors (e.g., astructured light, a time-of-flight, or the like), and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the one or more CGR displays 312 are configured toprovide the CGR experience to the user. In some embodiments, the one ormore CGR displays 312 correspond to holographic, digital lightprocessing (DLP), liquid-crystal display (LCD), liquid-crystal onsilicon (LCoS), organic light-emitting field-effect transitory (OLET),organic light-emitting diode (OLED), surface-conduction electron-emitterdisplay (SED), field-emission display (FED), quantum-dot light-emittingdiode (QD-LED), micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS), and/or the likedisplay types. In some embodiments, the one or more CGR displays 312correspond to diffractive, reflective, polarized, holographic, etc.waveguide displays. For example, the HMD 120 includes a single CGRdisplay. In another example, the HMD 120 includes a CGR display for eacheye of the user. In some embodiments, the one or more CGR displays 312are capable of presenting MR and VR content. In some embodiments, theone or more CGR displays 312 are capable of presenting MR or VR content.

In some embodiments, the one or more image sensors 314 are configured toobtain image data that corresponds to at least a portion of the face ofthe user that includes the eyes of the user (and may be referred to asan eye-tracking camera). In some embodiments, the one or more imagesensors 314 are configured to obtain image data that corresponds to atleast a portion of the user's hand(s) and optionally arm(s) of the user(and may be referred to as a hand-tracking camera). In some embodiments,the one or more image sensors 314 are configured to be forward-facing soas to obtain image data that corresponds to the scene as would be viewedby the user if the HMD 120 was not present (and may be referred to as ascene camera). The one or more optional image sensors 314 can includeone or more RGB cameras (e.g., with a complimentarymetal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor or a charge-coupled device(CCD) image sensor), one or more infrared (IR) cameras, one or moreevent-based cameras, and/or the like.

The memory 320 includes high-speed random-access memory, such as DRAM,SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random-access solid-state memory devices. Insome embodiments, the memory 320 includes non-volatile memory, such asone or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices,flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state storage devices.The memory 320 optionally includes one or more storage devices remotelylocated from the one or more processing units 302. The memory 320comprises a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. In someembodiments, the memory 320 or the non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of the memory 320 stores the following programs, modulesand data structures, or a subset thereof including an optional operatingsystem 330 and a CGR presentation module 340.

The operating system 330 includes instructions for handling variousbasic system services and for performing hardware dependent tasks. Insome embodiments, the CGR presentation module 340 is configured topresent CGR content to the user via the one or more CGR displays 312. Tothat end, in various embodiments, the CGR presentation module 340includes a data obtaining unit 342, a CGR presenting unit 344, a CGR mapgenerating unit 346, and a data transmitting unit 348.

In some embodiments, the data obtaining unit 342 is configured to obtaindata (e.g., presentation data, interaction data, sensor data, locationdata, etc.) from at least the controller 110 of FIG. 1 . To that end, invarious embodiments, the data obtaining unit 342 includes instructionsand/or logic therefor, and heuristics and metadata therefor.

In some embodiments, the CGR presenting unit 344 is configured topresent CGR content via the one or more CGR displays 312. To that end,in various embodiments, the CGR presenting unit 344 includesinstructions and/or logic therefor, and heuristics and metadatatherefor.

In some embodiments, the CGR map generating unit 346 is configured togenerate a CGR map (e.g., a 3D map of the mixed reality scene or a mapof the physical environment into which computer generated objects can beplaced to generate the computer generated reality) based on mediacontent data. To that end, in various embodiments, the CGR mapgenerating unit 346 includes instructions and/or logic therefor, andheuristics and metadata therefor.

In some embodiments, the data transmitting unit 348 is configured totransmit data (e.g., presentation data, location data, etc.) to at leastthe controller 110, and optionally one or more of the input devices 125,output devices 155, sensors 190, and/or peripheral devices 195. To thatend, in various embodiments, the data transmitting unit 348 includesinstructions and/or logic therefor, and heuristics and metadatatherefor.

Although the data obtaining unit 342, the CGR presenting unit 344, theCGR map generating unit 346, and the data transmitting unit 348 areshown as residing on a single device (e.g., the display generationcomponent 120 of FIG. 1 ), it should be understood that in otherembodiments, any combination of the data obtaining unit 342, the CGRpresenting unit 344, the CGR map generating unit 346, and the datatransmitting unit 348 may be located in separate computing devices.

Moreover, FIG. 3 is intended more as a functional description of thevarious features that could be present in a particular implementation asopposed to a structural schematic of the embodiments described herein.As recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, items shownseparately could be combined and some items could be separated. Forexample, some functional modules shown separately in FIG. 3 could beimplemented in a single module and the various functions of singlefunctional blocks could be implemented by one or more functional blocksin various embodiments. The actual number of modules and the division ofparticular functions and how features are allocated among them will varyfrom one implementation to another and, in some embodiments, depends inpart on the particular combination of hardware, software, and/orfirmware chosen for a particular implementation.

FIG. 4 is a schematic, pictorial illustration of an example embodimentof the hand tracking device 140. In some embodiments, hand trackingdevice 140 (FIG. 1 ) is controlled by hand tracking unit 245 (FIG. 2 )to track the position/location of one or more portions of the user'shands, and/or motions of one or more portions of the user's hands withrespect to the scene 105 of FIG. 1 (e.g., with respect to a portion ofthe physical environment surrounding the user, with respect to thedisplay generation component 120, or with respect to a portion of theuser (e.g., the user's face, eyes, or head), and/or relative to acoordinate system defined relative to the user's hand. In someembodiments, the hand tracking device 140 is part of the displaygeneration component 120 (e.g., embedded in or attached to ahead-mounted device). In some embodiments, the hand tracking device 140is separate from the display generation component 120 (e.g., located inseparate housings or attached to separate physical support structures).

In some embodiments, the hand tracking device 140 includes image sensors404 (e.g., one or more IR cameras, 3D cameras, depth cameras, and/orcolor cameras, etc.) that capture three-dimensional scene informationthat includes at least a hand 406 of a human user. The image sensors 404capture the hand images with sufficient resolution to enable the fingersand their respective positions to be distinguished. The image sensors404 typically capture images of other parts of the user's body, as well,or possibly all of the body, and may have either zoom capabilities or adedicated sensor with enhanced magnification to capture images of thehand with the desired resolution. In some embodiments, the image sensors404 also capture 2D color video images of the hand 406 and otherelements of the scene. In some embodiments, the image sensors 404 areused in conjunction with other image sensors to capture the physicalenvironment of the scene 105, or serve as the image sensors that capturethe physical environment of the scene 105. In some embodiments, theimage sensors 404 are positioned relative to the user or the user'senvironment in a way that a field of view of the image sensors or aportion thereof is used to define an interaction space in which handmovement captured by the image sensors are treated as inputs to thecontroller 110.

In some embodiments, the image sensors 404 outputs a sequence of framescontaining 3D map data (and possibly color image data, as well) to thecontroller 110, which extracts high-level information from the map data.This high-level information is typically provided via an ApplicationProgram Interface (API) to an application running on the controller,which drives the display generation component 120 accordingly. Forexample, the user may interact with software running on the controller110 by moving his hand 408 and changing his hand posture.

In some embodiments, the image sensors 404 project a pattern of spotsonto a scene containing the hand 406 and captures an image of theprojected pattern. In some embodiments, the controller 110 computes the3D coordinates of points in the scene (including points on the surfaceof the user's hand) by triangulation, based on transverse shifts of thespots in the pattern. This approach is advantageous in that it does notrequire the user to hold or wear any sort of beacon, sensor, or othermarker. It gives the depth coordinates of points in the scene relativeto a predetermined reference plane, at a certain distance from the imagesensors 404. In the present disclosure, the image sensors 404 areassumed to define an orthogonal set of x, y, z axes, so that depthcoordinates of points in the scene correspond to z components measuredby the image sensors. Alternatively, the hand tracking device 440 mayuse other methods of 3D mapping, such as stereoscopic imaging ortime-of-flight measurements, based on single or multiple cameras orother types of sensors.

In some embodiments, the hand tracking device 140 captures and processesa temporal sequence of depth maps containing the user's hand, while theuser moves his hand (e.g., whole hand or one or more fingers). Softwarerunning on a processor in the image sensors 404 and/or the controller110 processes the 3D map data to extract patch descriptors of the handin these depth maps. The software matches these descriptors to patchdescriptors stored in a database 408, based on a prior learning process,in order to estimate the pose of the hand in each frame. The posetypically includes 3D locations of the user's hand joints and fingertips.

The software may also analyze the trajectory of the hands and/or fingersover multiple frames in the sequence in order to identify gestures. Thepose estimation functions described herein may be interleaved withmotion tracking functions, so that patch-based pose estimation isperformed only once in every two (or more) frames, while tracking isused to find changes in the pose that occur over the remaining frames.The pose, motion and gesture information are provided via theabove-mentioned API to an application program running on the controller110. This program may, for example, move and modify images presented onthe display generation component 120, or perform other functions, inresponse to the pose and/or gesture information.

In some embodiments, the software may be downloaded to the controller110 in electronic form, over a network, for example, or it mayalternatively be provided on tangible, non-transitory media, such asoptical, magnetic, or electronic memory media. In some embodiments, thedatabase 408 is likewise stored in a memory associated with thecontroller 110. Alternatively or additionally, some or all of thedescribed functions of the computer may be implemented in dedicatedhardware, such as a custom or semi-custom integrated circuit or aprogrammable digital signal processor (DSP). Although the controller 110is shown in FIG. 4 , by way of example, as a separate unit from theimage sensors 440, some or all of the processing functions of thecontroller may be performed by a suitable microprocessor and software orby dedicated circuitry within the housing of the hand tracking device402 or otherwise associated with the image sensors 404. In someembodiments, at least some of these processing functions may be carriedout by a suitable processor that is integrated with the displaygeneration component 120 (e.g., in a television set, a handheld device,or head-mounted device, for example) or with any other suitablecomputerized device, such as a game console or media player. The sensingfunctions of image sensors 404 may likewise be integrated into thecomputer or other computerized apparatus that is to be controlled by thesensor output.

FIG. 4 further includes a schematic representation of a depth map 410captured by the image sensors 404, in accordance with some embodiments.The depth map, as explained above, comprises a matrix of pixels havingrespective depth values. The pixels 412 corresponding to the hand 406have been segmented out from the background and the wrist in this map.The brightness of each pixel within the depth map 410 correspondsinversely to its depth value, i.e., the measured z distance from theimage sensors 404, with the shade of gray growing darker with increasingdepth. The controller 110 processes these depth values in order toidentify and segment a component of the image (i.e., a group ofneighboring pixels) having characteristics of a human hand. Thesecharacteristics, may include, for example, overall size, shape andmotion from frame to frame of the sequence of depth maps.

FIG. 4 also schematically illustrates a hand skeleton 414 thatcontroller 110 ultimately extracts from the depth map 410 of the hand406, in accordance with some embodiments. In FIG. 4 , the skeleton 414is superimposed on a hand background 416 that has been segmented fromthe original depth map. In some embodiments, key feature points of thehand (e.g., points corresponding to knuckles, finger tips, center of thepalm, end of the hand connecting to wrist, etc.) and optionally on thewrist or arm connected to the hand are identified and located on thehand skeleton 414. In some embodiments, location and movements of thesekey feature points over multiple image frames are used by the controller110 to determine the hand gestures performed by the hand or the currentstate of the hand, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example embodiment of the eye tracking device 130(FIG. 1 ). In some embodiments, the eye tracking device 130 iscontrolled by the eye tracking unit 243 (FIG. 2 ) to track the positionand movement of the user's gaze with respect to the scene 105 or withrespect to the CGR content displayed via the display generationcomponent 120. In some embodiments, the eye tracking device 130 isintegrated with the display generation component 120. For example, insome embodiments, when the display generation component 120 is ahead-mounted device such as headset, helmet, goggles, or glasses, or ahandheld device placed in a wearable frame, the head-mounted deviceincludes both a component that generates the CGR content for viewing bythe user and a component for tracking the gaze of the user relative tothe CGR content. In some embodiments, the eye tracking device 130 isseparate from the display generation component 120. For example, whendisplay generation component is a handheld device or a CGR chamber, theeye tracking device 130 is optionally a separate device from thehandheld device or CGR chamber. In some embodiments, the eye trackingdevice 130 is a head-mounted device or part of a head-mounted device. Insome embodiments, the head-mounted eye-tracking device 130 is optionallyused in conjunction with a display generation component that is alsohead-mounted, or a display generation component that is nothead-mounted. In some embodiments, the eye tracking device 130 is not ahead-mounted device, and is optionally used in conjunction with ahead-mounted display generation component. In some embodiments, the eyetracking device 130 is not a head-mounted device, and is optionally partof a non-head-mounted display generation component.

In some embodiments, the display generation component 120 uses a displaymechanism (e.g., left and right near-eye display panels) for displayingframes including left and right images in front of a user's eyes to thusprovide 3D virtual views to the user. For example, a head-mounteddisplay generation component may include left and right optical lenses(referred to herein as eye lenses) located between the display and theuser's eyes. In some embodiments, the display generation component mayinclude or be coupled to one or more external video cameras that capturevideo of the user's environment for display. In some embodiments, ahead-mounted display generation component may have a transparent orsemi-transparent display through which a user may view the physicalenvironment directly and display virtual objects on the transparent orsemi-transparent display. In some embodiments, display generationcomponent projects virtual objects into the physical environment. Thevirtual objects may be projected, for example, on a physical surface oras a holograph, so that an individual, using the system, observes thevirtual objects superimposed over the physical environment. In suchcases, separate display panels and image frames for the left and righteyes may not be necessary.

As shown in FIG. 5 , in some embodiments, a gaze tracking device 130includes at least one eye tracking camera (e.g., infrared (IR) ornear-IR (NIR) cameras), and illumination sources (e.g., IR or NIR lightsources such as an array or ring of LEDs) that emit light (e.g., IR orNIR light) towards the user's eyes. The eye tracking cameras may bepointed towards the user's eyes to receive reflected IR or NIR lightfrom the light sources directly from the eyes, or alternatively may bepointed towards “hot” mirrors located between the user's eyes and thedisplay panels that reflect IR or NIR light from the eyes to the eyetracking cameras while allowing visible light to pass. The gaze trackingdevice 130 optionally captures images of the user's eyes (e.g., as avideo stream captured at 60-120 frames per second (fps)), analyze theimages to generate gaze tracking information, and communicate the gazetracking information to the controller 110. In some embodiments, twoeyes of the user are separately tracked by respective eye trackingcameras and illumination sources. In some embodiments, only one eye ofthe user is tracked by a respective eye tracking camera and illuminationsources.

In some embodiments, the eye tracking device 130 is calibrated using adevice-specific calibration process to determine parameters of the eyetracking device for the specific operating environment 100, for examplethe 3D geometric relationship and parameters of the LEDs, cameras, hotmirrors (if present), eye lenses, and display screen. Thedevice-specific calibration process may be performed at the factory oranother facility prior to delivery of the AR/VR equipment to the enduser. The device-specific calibration process may an automatedcalibration process or a manual calibration process. A user-specificcalibration process may include an estimation of a specific user's eyeparameters, for example the pupil location, fovea location, opticalaxis, visual axis, eye spacing, etc. Once the device-specific anduser-specific parameters are determined for the eye tracking device 130,images captured by the eye tracking cameras can be processed using aglint-assisted method to determine the current visual axis and point ofgaze of the user with respect to the display, in accordance with someembodiments.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the eye tracking device 130 (e.g., 130A or 130B)includes eye lens(es) 520, and a gaze tracking system that includes atleast one eye tracking camera 540 (e.g., infrared (IR) or near-IR (NIR)cameras) positioned on a side of the user's face for which eye trackingis performed, and an illumination source 530 (e.g., IR or NIR lightsources such as an array or ring of NIR light-emitting diodes (LEDs))that emit light (e.g., IR or NIR light) towards the user's eye(s) 592.The eye tracking cameras 540 may be pointed towards mirrors 550 locatedbetween the user's eye(s) 592 and a display 510 (e.g., a left or rightdisplay panel of a head-mounted display, or a display of a handhelddevice, a projector, etc.) that reflect IR or NIR light from the eye(s)592 while allowing visible light to pass (e.g., as shown in the topportion of FIG. 5 ), or alternatively may be pointed towards the user'seye(s) 592 to receive reflected IR or NIR light from the eye(s) 592(e.g., as shown in the bottom portion of FIG. 5 ).

In some embodiments, the controller 110 renders AR or VR frames 562(e.g., left and right frames for left and right display panels) andprovide the frames 562 to the display 510. The controller 110 uses gazetracking input 542 from the eye tracking cameras 540 for variouspurposes, for example in processing the frames 562 for display. Thecontroller 110 optionally estimates the user's point of gaze on thedisplay 510 based on the gaze tracking input 542 obtained from the eyetracking cameras 540 using the glint-assisted methods or other suitablemethods. The point of gaze estimated from the gaze tracking input 542 isoptionally used to determine the direction in which the user iscurrently looking.

The following describes several possible use cases for the user'scurrent gaze direction, and is not intended to be limiting. As anexample use case, the controller 110 may render virtual contentdifferently based on the determined direction of the user's gaze. Forexample, the controller 110 may generate virtual content at a higherresolution in a foveal region determined from the user's current gazedirection than in peripheral regions. As another example, the controllermay position or move virtual content in the view based at least in parton the user's current gaze direction. As another example, the controllermay display particular virtual content in the view based at least inpart on the user's current gaze direction. As another example use casein AR applications, the controller 110 may direct external cameras forcapturing the physical environment of the CGR experience to focus in thedetermined direction. The autofocus mechanism of the external camerasmay then focus on an object or surface in the environment that the useris currently looking at on the display 510. As another example use case,the eye lenses 520 may be focusable lenses, and the gaze trackinginformation is used by the controller to adjust the focus of the eyelenses 520 so that the virtual object that the user is currently lookingat has the proper vergence to match the convergence of the user's eyes592. The controller 110 may leverage the gaze tracking information todirect the eye lenses 520 to adjust focus so that close objects that theuser is looking at appear at the right distance.

In some embodiments, the eye tracking device is part of a head-mounteddevice that includes a display (e.g., display 510), two eye lenses(e.g., eye lens(es) 520), eye tracking cameras (e.g., eye trackingcamera(s) 540), and light sources (e.g., light sources 530 (e.g., IR orNIR LEDs), mounted in a wearable housing. The Light sources emit light(e.g., IR or NIR light) towards the user's eye(s) 592. In someembodiments, the light sources may be arranged in rings or circlesaround each of the lenses as shown in FIG. 5 . In some embodiments,eight light sources 530 (e.g., LEDs) are arranged around each lens 520as an example. However, more or fewer light sources 530 may be used, andother arrangements and locations of light sources 530 may be used.

In some embodiments, the display 510 emits light in the visible lightrange and does not emit light in the IR or NIR range, and thus does notintroduce noise in the gaze tracking system. Note that the location andangle of eye tracking camera(s) 540 is given by way of example, and isnot intended to be limiting. In some embodiments, a single eye trackingcamera 540 located on each side of the user's face. In some embodiments,two or more NIR cameras 540 may be used on each side of the user's face.In some embodiments, a camera 540 with a wider field of view (FOV) and acamera 540 with a narrower FOV may be used on each side of the user'sface. In some embodiments, a camera 540 that operates at one wavelength(e.g. 850 nm) and a camera 540 that operates at a different wavelength(e.g. 940 nm) may be used on each side of the user's face.

Embodiments of the gaze tracking system as illustrated in FIG. 5 may,for example, be used in computer-generated reality (e.g., includingvirtual reality, and/or mixed reality) applications to providecomputer-generated reality (e.g., including virtual reality, augmentedreality, and/or augmented virtuality) experiences to the user.

FIG. 6 illustrates a glint-assisted gaze tracking pipeline, inaccordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the gaze trackingpipeline is implemented by a glint-assisted gaze tracing system (e.g.,eye tracking device 130 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5 ). Theglint-assisted gaze tracking system may maintain a tracking state.Initially, the tracking state is off or “NO”. When in the trackingstate, the glint-assisted gaze tracking system uses prior informationfrom the previous frame when analyzing the current frame to track thepupil contour and glints in the current frame. When not in the trackingstate, the glint-assisted gaze tracking system attempts to detect thepupil and glints in the current frame and, if successful, initializesthe tracking state to “YES” and continues with the next frame in thetracking state.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the gaze tracking cameras may capture left andright images of the user's left and right eyes. The captured images arethen input to a gaze tracking pipeline for processing beginning at 610.As indicated by the arrow returning to element 600, the gaze trackingsystem may continue to capture images of the user's eyes, for example ata rate of 60 to 120 frames per second. In some embodiments, each set ofcaptured images may be input to the pipeline for processing. However, insome embodiments or under some conditions, not all captured frames areprocessed by the pipeline.

At 610, for the current captured images, if the tracking state is YES,then the method proceeds to element 640. At 610, if the tracking stateis NO, then as indicated at 620 the images are analyzed to detect theuser's pupils and glints in the images. At 630, if the pupils and glintsare successfully detected, then the method proceeds to element 640.Otherwise, the method returns to element 610 to process next images ofthe user's eyes.

At 640, if proceeding from element 410, the current frames are analyzedto track the pupils and glints based in part on prior information fromthe previous frames. At 640, if proceeding from element 630, thetracking state is initialized based on the detected pupils and glints inthe current frames. Results of processing at element 640 are checked toverify that the results of tracking or detection can be trusted. Forexample, results may be checked to determine if the pupil and asufficient number of glints to perform gaze estimation are successfullytracked or detected in the current frames. At 650, if the results cannotbe trusted, then the tracking state is set to NO and the method returnsto element 610 to process next images of the user's eyes. At 650, if theresults are trusted, then the method proceeds to element 670. At 670,the tracking state is set to YES (if not already YES), and the pupil andglint information is passed to element 680 to estimate the user's pointof gaze.

FIG. 6 is intended to serves as one example of eye tracking technologythat may be used in a particular implementation. As recognized by thoseof ordinary skill in the art, other eye tracking technologies thatcurrently exist or are developed in the future may be used in place ofor in combination with the glint-assisted eye tracking technologydescribe herein in the computer system 101 for providing CGR experiencesto users, in accordance with various embodiments.

In the present disclosure, various input methods are described withrespect to interactions with a computer system. When an example isprovided using one input device or input method and another example isprovided using another input device or input method, it is to beunderstood that each example may be compatible with and optionallyutilizes the input device or input method described with respect toanother example. Similarly, various output methods are described withrespect to interactions with a computer system. When an example isprovided using one output device or output method and another example isprovided using another output device or output method, it is to beunderstood that each example may be compatible with and optionallyutilizes the output device or output method described with respect toanother example. Similarly, various methods are described with respectto interactions with a virtual environment or a mixed realityenvironment through a computer system. When an example is provided usinginteractions with a virtual environment and another example is providedusing mixed reality environment, it is to be understood that eachexample may be compatible with and optionally utilizes the methodsdescribed with respect to another example. As such, the presentdisclosure discloses embodiments that are combinations of the featuresof multiple examples, without exhaustively listing all features of anembodiment in the description of each example embodiment.

User Interfaces and Associated Processes

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces (“UI”)and associated processes that may be implemented on a computer system,such as portable multifunction device or a head-mounted device, with adisplay generation component, one or more input devices, and(optionally) one or cameras.

FIGS. 7A-7F illustrate a three-dimensional environment displayed via adisplay generation component (e.g., a display generation component 7100,a display generation component 120, etc.) and interactions that occur inthe three-dimensional environment caused by user inputs directed to thethree-dimensional environment, in accordance with various embodiments.In some embodiments, the inputs are directed to virtual objects withinthe three-dimensional environment by a user's gaze detected at thepositions of the virtual objects, by a hand gesture performed at alocation in the physical environment that corresponds to the position ofthe virtual object, by a hand gesture that is performed at a location inthe physical environment that is independent of the position of thevirtual object while the virtual object has input focus (e.g., selectedby a gaze, selected by a pointer, selected by a previous gesture input,etc.). In some embodiments, the inputs are directed to a representationof a physical object or a virtual object that corresponds to a physicalobject by the user's hand movement (e.g., whole hand movement, wholehand movement in a respective posture, movement of one portion of handrelative to another portion of the hand, relative movement between twohands, etc.) and/or manipulation with respect to the physical object(e.g., touching, swiping, tapping, opening, moving toward, movingrelative to, etc.).

In some embodiments, the three-dimensional environment is a mixedreality environment that displays virtual objects at different virtualpositions in the three-dimensional environment that are constrained byone or more physical aspects of the physical environment (e.g.,positions and orientations of walls, floors, surfaces, direction ofgravity, time of day, etc.). In some embodiments, the three-dimensionalenvironment is an augmented reality environment that includes arepresentation of the physical environment. The representation of thephysical environment includes respective representations of physicalobjects and surfaces at different positions in the three-dimensionalenvironment, such that the spatial relationships between the differentphysical objects and surfaces in the physical environment are reflectedby the spatial relationships between the representations of the physicalobjects and surfaces in the three-dimensional environment. When virtualobjects are placed relative to the positions of the representations ofphysical objects and surfaces in the three-dimensional environment, theyappear to have corresponding spatial relationships with the physicalobjects and surfaces in the physical environment.

In some embodiments, the display generation component includes apass-through portion in which the representation of the physicalenvironment is displayed. In some embodiments, the pass-through portionis a transparent or semi-transparent (e.g., a see-through) portion ofthe display generation component revealing at least a portion ofphysical environment surrounding and within the field of view of user.For example, the pass-through portion is a portion of a head-mounteddisplay or heads-up display that is made semi-transparent (e.g., lessthan 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, 15%, 10%, or 5% of opacity) or transparent,such that the user can see through it to view the real world surroundingthe user without removing the head-mounted display or moving away fromthe heads-up display. In some embodiments, the pass-through portiongradually transitions from semi-transparent or transparent to fullyopaque when displaying a virtual or mixed reality environment. In someembodiments, the pass-through portion of the display generationcomponent displays a live feed of images or video of at least a portionof physical environment captured by one or more cameras (e.g., rearfacing camera(s) of the mobile device or associated with thehead-mounted display, or other cameras that feed image data to theelectronic device). In some embodiments, the one or more cameras pointat a portion of the physical environment that is directly in front ofthe user's eyes (e.g., behind the display generation component). In someembodiments, the one or more cameras point at a portion of the physicalenvironment that is not directly in front of the user's eyes (e.g., in adifferent physical environment, or to the side or behind the user).

In some embodiments, when displaying virtual objects at positions thatcorrespond to locations of one or more physical objects in the physicalenvironment, at least some of the virtual objects are displayed inplaced of (e.g., replacing display of) a portion of the live view (e.g.,a portion of the physical environment captured in the live view) of thecameras. In some embodiments, at least some of the virtual object andcontent are projected onto the physical surfaces or empty space in thephysical environment and are visible through the pass-through portion ofthe display generation component (e.g., viewable as part of the cameraview of the physical environment, or through the transparent orsemi-transparent portion of the display generation component, etc.). Insome embodiments, at least some of the virtual objects and content aredisplayed to overlay a portion of the display and blocks the view of atleast a portion of, but not all of, the physical environment visiblethrough the transparent or semi-transparent portion of the displaygeneration component. In some embodiments, at least some of the virtualobjects are projected directly onto the user's retina at positionsrelative to an image of the representation of the physical environment(e.g., as viewed through a camera view of the physical environment, orthrough a transparent portion of the display generation component, etc.)

In some embodiments, the display generation component displays differentviews of the three-dimensional environment in accordance with userinputs or movements that changes the virtual position of the viewpointof the currently displayed view of the three-dimensional environmentrelative to the three-dimensional environment. In some embodiments,movement of the user's head and/or torso, and/or the movement of thedisplay generation component or other location sensing elements of thecomputer system (e.g., due to the user holding the display generationcomponent or wearing the HMD, etc.), etc., relative to the physicalenvironment causes corresponding movement of the viewpoint (e.g., withcorresponding movement direction, movement distance, movement speed,and/or change in orientation, etc.) relative to the three-dimensionalenvironment, resulting corresponding change in the currently displayedview of the three-dimensional environment. In some embodiments, when avirtual object has a preset spatial relationship relative to theviewpoint, movement of the viewpoint relative to the three-dimensionalenvironment would cause movement of the virtual object relative to thethree-dimensional environment while the position of the virtual objectin the field of view is maintained (e.g., the virtual object is said tobe head locked). In some embodiments, a virtual object is body-locked tothe user, and moves relative to the three-dimensional environment whenthe user moves as a whole in the physical environment (e.g., carrying orwearing the display generation component and/or other location sensingcomponent of the computer system), but will not move in thethree-dimensional environment in response to the user's head movement(e.g., the display generation component and/or other location sensingcomponent of the computer system rotating around a fixed location of theuser in the physical environment).

In some embodiments, the computer-system provides a virtual assistant inthe three-dimensional environment, and the position of the virtualassistant in the three-dimensional environment is locked to (e.g., has afixed spatial relationship relative to, moves in accordance with themovement of, etc.) the viewpoint (e.g., body-locked to the user if theviewpoint is locked to the user's body, locked to the user's head if theviewpoint is locked to the user's head, locked to the display generationcomponent if the viewpoint is locked to the display generationcomponent, etc.) and moves relative to the three-dimensional environmentwhen the viewpoint is moved relative to the three-dimensionalenvironment (e.g., due to the movement of the user, due to the movementof the user's head, due to the movement of the display generationcomponent, etc.). In some embodiments, the virtual assistant is lockedto the viewpoint only when the virtual assistant is not engaged ininteraction with the user, and as soon as a request for interaction isreceived by the virtual assistant, the virtual assistant is unlockedfrom the viewpoint and moves relative to its locked position inaccordance with the requirement of the interaction with the user. Insome embodiments, the virtual assistant is outside of the currentlydisplayed view of the three-dimensional environment when in the lockedspatial relationship relative to the viewpoint, optionally, while itsvirtual illumination remains visible in the currently displayed view ofthe three-dimensional environment. In some embodiments, the virtualassistant is invoked by the user gazing at a preset portion of thecurrently field of view provided by the display generation component(e.g., the peripheral portion of the field of view from which therepresentation of the virtual illumination emanates, a preset corner ofthe field of view, etc.), or providing another prescribed input (e.g., avoice command, a gesture input, etc.). In some embodiments, the virtualassistant is unlocked from the fixed spatial relationship with theviewpoint in response to a user's request to interact with the virtualassistant (e.g., a voice command summoning the virtual assistant, aquery directed to the virtual assistant, a command directed to thevirtual assistant, a gesture or gaze input to summon or wake the virtualassistant, etc.).

As described herein, a virtual assistant is an embodiment of a functionof the computer system that assists the user in a variety of situationsand tasks based on contextual information (e.g., location, time,schedule, past interactions, social contacts, currently displayedapplication or experience, recently accessed applications andexperiences, recent interactions with the virtual assistant, etc.) andthe user's request. In some embodiments, the virtual assistant has anidentity that is associated with a persona, such as an animatedcharacter, a virtual animal or person, a robot, etc. In someembodiments, the inputs directed to the virtual assistant includenatural language inputs and/or speech from the user, as well as othertypes of inputs, such as gesture, touch, controller inputs, etc. . . .In some embodiments, the responses provided by the virtual assistantincludes natural language responses and/or speech, along with visualcontent responsive to the user's request. In some embodiments, thevirtual assistant includes an artificial intelligence component thatlearns from past interactions with the user, or with a large number ofusers, to provide more accurate responses to the user.

FIGS. 7A-7F are block diagrams that illustrate display and movement of arepresentation of virtual illumination associated with a virtualassistant in a three-dimensional environment in response to userinteraction with the virtual assistant, in accordance with someembodiments.

In some embodiments, a computer system provides a virtual assistant(e.g., virtual assistant 7020 in FIGS. 7C-7F, a virtual assistantwithout a corresponding virtual object embodiment, etc.) in athree-dimensional environment (e.g., environment 7003 in FIGS. 7B-7F, anaugmented reality environment, an augmented virtuality environment,etc.) to respond to a user's request for information and/or performanceof an operation (e.g., a question, a search query, a command, etc.).When providing visual content (e.g., visual content 7104 in FIG. 7F,user interface objects, avatars, icons, visual feedback regardingperformance of an operation, media content, search results, suggestedapplications, data items, documents, messages, images, etc.)corresponding to the requested information or performance of operationin the three-dimensional environment, the computer system displays andchanges a representation of virtual illumination emanating from aposition or region of the virtual assistant (e.g., representations 7108and 7110 of the virtual light emanating from the virtual assistant 7020,other representation of virtual illumination associated with a virtualassistant, etc.) to direct and focus the user's attention onto a portionof the three-dimensional environment (e.g., the top surface of therepresentation 7102′ of the physical object 7102, representation ofanother physical surface or portion of physical surface, etc.) at whichthe visual content will be displayed (e.g., by shrinking a spatialextent of a light spot of the virtual illumination on a representationof a physical surface, by transforming from general illumination totargeted illumination in the three-dimensional environment, etc.) (e.g.,as shown in the changes to the representation of the visual illumination(e.g., from representation 7108 in FIG. 7B to representation 7110 inFIG. 7E), or other changes, etc.). In some embodiments, therepresentation of virtual illumination changes the visual appearance ofthe representations of physical surfaces in the three-dimensionalenvironment (e.g., as shown by the light spots on the representation7008′ and the top surface of the representation 7102′ in FIGS. 7B-7F,etc.) to simulate illumination of the physical surfaces by a lightsource that is located at a location in the physical environmentcorresponding to the position of the virtual assistant in thethree-dimensional environment. The appearance (e.g., shape, brightness,color, spatial extent, intensity distribution, movement, etc.) of therepresentation of the virtual illumination changes to reflect thecurrent spatial relationship between the virtual assistant and therepresentations of physical surfaces in the three-dimensionalenvironment (e.g., the changing shapes and sizes of the light cone ofthe representation 7108 and the light beam of the representation 7110are based on the spatial relationship between the virtual assistant 7020and the representation 7008′ and the representation 7102′ in FIGS.7B-7F, etc.). In some embodiments, the appearance (e.g., shape,brightness, color, spatial extent, intensity distribution, movement,etc.) of the representation of the virtual illumination also changes toreflect the current state of the virtual assistant in the processes ofbeing activated, receiving a user input, processing the user input andpreparing a response, and presenting the response to the user input,etc., e.g., as illustrated by the different states of the representationof the virtual illumination in FIGS. 7B-7F. In some embodiments, thevirtual assistant moves into a respective portion of thethree-dimensional environment that is within the field of view providedby display generation component after the user's request for interaction(e.g., summoning the virtual assistant, asking a question, giving acommand, etc.) is detected. In some embodiments, the computer systemdisplays movement and changes in the representation of the virtualillumination in the currently displayed view of the three-dimensionalenvironment to indicate the movement of the virtual assistant toward therespective portion of the three-dimensional environment, even before thevirtual assistant enters the respective portion of the three-dimensionalenvironment (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 7B-7C, where the virtual assistant7020 moves into the view 7002 after the user's query 7202 is started ata time T0 when only the representation 7108 of the virtual illuminationis visible in the view 7002). In some embodiments, the virtual assistantis not embodied in a concrete virtual object (e.g., an avatar, an icon,a three-dimensional object, etc.) visible in the three-dimensionalenvironment, and its presence in the three-dimensional environment isindicated by the changes in the virtual illumination associated with thevirtual assistant.

In FIG. 7A, a user and a display generation component 7100 are presentin a physical environment 105. The user is in a position relative thedisplay generation component that enables the user to view a portion ofthe physical environment through the display generation component. Insome embodiments, the physical environment is a room or is part of aroom in a building (e.g., an environment that includes one or more walls7004 and 7006 and/or a floor 7008). In some embodiments, the physicalenvironment is an outdoor environment (e.g., outside of a building). Insome embodiments, the physical environment 105 includes one or morephysical objects 7102 (e.g., an object such as a piece of furniture(e.g., a table, a chair, a cabinet, an appliance, a drawer, anelectronic device, a wall, a window, a display screen, the user's hand,the user's lap, etc.), a part of the scenery (e.g., a rock, a tree,etc.), etc.) at various locations within the physical environment.

FIGS. 7B-7F illustrate animations of a representation of virtualillumination associated with the virtual assistant (e.g., in the form ofdifferent representations of the one or more projections of light, inthis example) in response to user interaction (e.g., an input thatcorresponds to a user query received by the computer system, a voicecommand, etc.), in accordance with some embodiments. In this example,FIGS. 7B-7D show the changes of the representation of virtualillumination (e.g., in the form of a first representation 7108 of theone or more projections of light) before a display location of thevisual content corresponding to the user's query is ascertained, andFIGS. 7E-7F show the representation of virtual illumination (e.g., inthe form of a second representation 7110 of the one or more projectionsof light) is focused on a selected display location for the visualcontent (e.g., after the display location of the visual content isascertained, before the visual content is displayed at the displaylocation, and/or while the visual content is displayed at the selecteddisplay location, etc.) in accordance with some embodiments.

In FIG. 7B, the computer system displays a first view 7002 of a firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment 7003 via a displaygeneration component (e.g., the display generation component 7100, oranother display generation component such as an HMD, etc.). FIG. 7Billustrates a state of the first view 7002 of the three-dimensionalenvironment 7003 at a time T0 (e.g., prior to the computer systemdetecting a user input engaging the virtual assistant, while the virtualassistant is in a dormant state, etc.). The first view 7002 provided bythe display generation component includes a representation of a portionof the physical environment 105. For example, the first view 7002 of thecomputer-generated three-dimensional environment includesrepresentations of physical surfaces (e.g., such as representations7004′ and 7006′ of the walls 7004 and 7006, representation 7008′ and thefloor 7008, etc.), and representations of physical objects (e.g.,representation 7102′ of the physical object 7102, representations ofother physical objects, etc.) in a first portion of the physicalenvironment.

In some embodiments, the computer system provides a virtual assistant inthe three-dimensional environment 7003. In some embodiments, theposition of the virtual assistant is outside of the currently displayedview of the three-dimensional environment (e.g., in a region above theportion of the three-dimensional environment that is in the field ofview provided via the display generation component, in a region to theside of the portion of the three-dimensional environment that is in thefield of view provided via the display generation component, etc.), andthe virtual assistant is not initially visible in the currentlydisplayed view of the three-dimensional environment before the user'srequest for interacting with the virtual assistant is detected. In someembodiments, the computer system detects an input from the user to wakethe virtual assistant (e.g., the user moving the viewpoint to bring theposition of the virtual assistant into view, the user gazing at theperipheral portion of the field of view without moving the viewpoint,the user calls on the virtual assistant via a speech input or gestureinput, etc.); and in response, the computer system brings arepresentation of the virtual assistant into the currently displayedview of the three-dimensional environment. In some embodiments, arepresentation of the virtual assistant is persistently displayed in thefield of view (e.g., in a manner as shown in FIG. 7C, or in a differentmanner from that shown in FIG. 7C, etc.) before a user's request forinteraction is detected. In some embodiments, a representation ofvirtual illumination associated with the virtual assistant is visible inthe field of view before the user's request for interaction with thevirtual assistant is detected. In some embodiments, a representation ofvirtual illumination is displayed in the field of view in response todetecting the user's request for interaction with the virtual assistant,and optionally, before the representation of the virtual assistant isdisplayed or moved into the field of view provided via the displaygeneration component.

As shown in FIG. 7B, in some embodiments, a representation of thevirtual assistant is not visible in the first view 7002 of the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment (e.g., the virtualassistant is present in a position that is outside of the first view7002, at least initially). In FIG. 7B, a representation of virtualillumination associated with the virtual assistant, e.g., in the form ofa first representation 7108 of one or more projections of light, isdisplayed in a first portion of the three-dimensional environment 7002.In some embodiments, the first representation 7108 of the one or moreprojections of light has a shape and size to indicate that the virtuallight is emanating from (e.g., originating at) a position or arepresentation of the virtual assistant 7020 that is present in thethree-dimensional environment. In some embodiments, the firstrepresentation 7108 of the one or more projections of light appears tohave an origin (e.g., starting position, anchor position, etc.) in arespective portion of the three-dimensional environment 7003 that isoutside of that shown in the first view 7002 (e.g., the origincorresponds to the current position or region of the virtual assistantin the three-dimensional environment). For example, the narrower angleand stronger intensity and color at the top portion of therepresentation 7108 relative to the broader angle and weaker intensityand color at the bottom portion of the representation 7108 in FIG. 7Bindicates a distance between the initial position of the virtualassistant and the representation 7008′ of the floor 7008, in accordancewith some embodiments. In some embodiments, the representation 7108 isnot necessarily in the form of a cone of light, but in the form of softand general illumination that does not have a well-defined boundarysurface, and has variations of intensity, color, translucency, and/orother display properties, etc. to reflect the spatial relationshipbetween the position of the virtual assistant relative to the portion ofthe three-dimensional environment that is in the currently displayedview of the three-dimensional environment. Similarly, the virtualassistant 7020 is, in some embodiments, represented as a shape (e.g., atwo- or three-dimensional shape including but not limited to a circle,an oval, a sphere, a square, a cube, etc.), or an avatar with definablecontours and outlines. In some embodiments, the representation of thevirtual assistant 7020 does not have a well-defined outline or contour,and is a fuzzy region that is visually distinguished by the changingdisplay properties of the surrounding three-dimensional environment.

In FIG. 7B, the first representation 7108 of the one or more projectionsof light has an appearance that indicates a spatial relationship (e.g.,distance, angle, relative positions, etc.) between the virtual assistant7020 and the first portion of the three-dimensional environment (e.g.,including the representation 7008′ of the floor 7008, the representation7102′ of the physical object 7102, the representations 7004′ and 7006′of the walls 7004 and 7006, etc.). In some embodiments, the spatialrelationship is fixed (e.g., both the virtual assistant and theviewpoint remain stationary, the virtual assistant is locked to theviewpoint, etc.). In some embodiments, the spatial relationship isvariable (e.g., one or both of the virtual assistant and the viewpointare moving and are not locked to each other, the physical objects andsurfaces (e.g., moving curtains, moving hands, moving scenery, etc.)within the three-dimensional environment are moving relative to theviewpoint, etc.).

As shown in FIG. 7B, while in the initial state, the computer systemdetects a user input that corresponds to a request to interact with thevirtual assistant (e.g., a first user input (e.g., an utterance “HeyAssistant’, a gaze input at a region associated with the virtualassistant, a preset gesture input, an initial part or all of a question,an initial part of all of a voice command, etc.).

In some embodiments, in response to detecting the user input thatcorresponds to the request to interact with the virtual assistant (e.g.,in FIG. 7B) from the user, the computer system displays the virtualassistant 7020 in the first view 7002 (e.g., the representation of thevirtual assistant is moved from its original position into the field ofview, the representation of the virtual assistant starts to change colorand brightness to indicate that it is activated, etc.). In someembodiments, in response to detecting the user's request forinteraction, the computer system displays animated changes of the firstrepresentation 7108 of the one or more projections of light in the firstportion of the three-dimensional environment (e.g., animated changes asshown in FIGS. 7B-7C) to indicate that the virtual assistant isactivated and is ready to receive and/or process a query from the user.For example, the animated changes include an animated representation ofvirtual light moving and shimmering across the representations ofsurfaces in the three-dimensional environment in the first portion ofthe three-dimensional environment, while the virtual assistant remainssubstantially stationary (e.g., bouncing or pulsating within a thresholdrange of an anchor position within the field of view, changing colors orintensity rhythmically while suspended at an anchor position in field ofview, etc.) in the currently displayed view of the three-dimensionalenvironment. In some embodiments, a representation of the virtualassistant is not displayed in the currently displayed view of thethree-dimensional environment, and the animated changes in therepresentation of virtual light associated with the virtual assistantare used to indicate the position of the virtual assistant and thelistening state of the virtual assistant.

In some embodiments, the animated changes in a respective representation7108 of the one or more projections of light include continuousanimations (e.g., continuous transitions in intensity, brightness,color, shape, spatial extent, etc.). In some embodiments, the animatedchanges include alterations (e.g., flickering, transientrepresentations, rotations, etc.) of the respective representation 7108of at least one projection of light in the one or more projections oflight. In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 7B-7C, the animatedchanges in the respective representation 7108 of the one or moreprojections of light include continuous movement of an anchor positionof representation 7108 (e.g., the narrowest point, the origin ofanimated movement and changes, etc.) and a reduction of the spatialextent of the representation 7108 of the one or more projections oflight in the three-dimensional environment.

In some embodiments, to wake the virtual assistant (e.g., transitionfrom an idle state to a listening state) and/or trigger a response thatincludes visual content from the virtual assistant (e.g., transitionfrom a listening state to a processing state, or a responding state,etc.), the computer system requires a user input that meet various setsof criteria (e.g., first criteria for waking the virtual assistant,second criteria for making a request (e.g., asking for information orperformance of an operation, etc.). In some embodiments, the virtualassistant 7020 is displayed in a respective appearance corresponding tothe respective state of the virtual assistant. In some embodiments, thechanges in the representation of the virtual illumination associatedwith the virtual assistant correspond to a respective transition betweendifferent states of the virtual assistant.

FIG. 7C illustrates that, at a time T1 later than T0 shown in FIG. 7B,the first representation 7108 of the one or more projections of lighthas changed to indicate the changed spatial relationship (e.g., thedistance, angle, relative positions, etc.) between the virtual assistant7020 and the first portion of the three-dimensional environment 7003(e.g., relative to the representation 7102′ of the physical object 7102,the representation 7008′ of the floor 7008, etc.). In some embodiments,the representation 7108 of the one or more projections of light changesthe appearances of portions of the representations of the physicalsurfaces that intersect (e.g., coincide in positions, in the path of,behind, etc.) with the representation 7108 of the one or moreprojections of light. In some embodiments, the changes in theappearances of the portions of the representations of the physicalsurfaces simulate optical behaviors, such as reflection, refraction,absorption, diffusion, etc. of light-matter interaction in the physicalworld. For example, depending on the surface properties of the physicalsurfaces (e.g., smoothness, material, texture, shape, angle, color,reflection index, refraction index, etc.), the computer system changesthe display properties of the representations of the surfaces indifferent manners based on the appearance of the representation 7108 ofthe one or more projections of light, to reflect the surface propertiesof the physical surfaces. In this example, the floor 7008 is a slicksurface and reflects light strongly, and the representation 7108 forms abright light spot on the representation 7008′ of the floor 7008. Incontrast, the top surface of the physical object is more matted and lessreflective, and the representation 7108 of the one or more projectionsof light does not alter the appearance of the top surface of therepresentation 7102′ as much.

FIG. 7D illustrates that, at time T2 after the time T1 shown in FIG. 7C,detection of the user's query 7202 is completed (e.g., the user inquireswho is available to talk (e.g., engage in a chat or shared experience inthe three-dimensional environment), or other queries or requests, etc.).In FIG. 7D, the computer system displays animated changes of therepresentation 7108 of the one or more projections of light to indicatethat the virtual assistant is processing the query and preparing aresponse (e.g., visual content and verbal answers, performing arequested operation (e.g., preparing a network connection, sending arequest for a communication session with another user, etc.), etc.).FIGS. 7C and 7D illustrate an example of the animated changes in thefirst representation 7108 of the one or more projections of lightcontinuing for the duration of the query 7202 directed to the virtualassistant 7020 (e.g., the animated changes continue for the entire timethat the user is speaking). In some embodiments, the animated changesoccur when completion of a query 7202 directed to the virtual assistant7020 is detected by the computer system.

In FIG. 7D, while a response is being prepared and/or while the virtualassistant is waiting for the user to select a display location fordisplaying the visual content corresponding to a response to the query7202, etc., the representation of the virtual assistant (e.g.,representation 7020, or another representation that is within or outsideof the currently displayed view, etc.) has moved closer to therepresentation 7102′ of the physical object 7102 and the representation7108 of the one or more projections of light is animated with movement(e.g., ripples of light waves, movement of intensity or color changes,etc.) to indicate a potential display location for the visual contentcorresponding to the user's query 7202. For example, the movement shownin the light spot 7109 formed on the representation 7008′ of the floor7008 and the light spot 7111 formed on the top surface of therepresentation 7102′ of the object 7102 has a direction that pointstoward the center of the top surface of the representation 7102′, tosuggest to the user that a potential display location for the virtualcontent is at the center of the top surface of the representation 7102′of the object 7102.

In some embodiments, the computer system allows the user to select asuitable display location for the visual content responsive to theuser's query. For example, the user may move the display generationcomponent relative to the physical environment to move the viewpoint andbring a different portion of the physical environment into the field ofview; and in response, the computer system moves the position of thevirtual assistant and the representation of the virtual illumination ofthe virtual assistant to positions within the newly displayed portion ofthe three-dimensional environment. In some embodiments, the computersystem detects user's input selecting a portion of the physicalenvironment (e.g., a physical surface, a physical object, a portion offree space above or next to a physical surface, etc.) for displaying thevisual content corresponding to the query; and in response, the computersystem moves the virtual assistant and changes the appearance of therepresentation of virtual illumination of the virtual assistant to focuson the portion of the three-dimensional environment that corresponds tothe location that is selected by the user's input. In some embodiments,the user's selection input is a gaze that meets preset stability andduration requirement at a position in the three-dimensional environment.In some embodiments, the user's selection input selecting a portion ofthe physical environment is the user's hand touching the portion of thephysical environment or pointing at the portion of the physicalenvironment. In some embodiments, the selection input is a gaze inputdetected in conjunction with (e.g., concurrently with, within athreshold time of, etc.) detection of the query. In some embodiments,the selection input is an input provided by another user that is sharingthe three-dimensional environment with the user. In some embodiments,the computer system tracks the movement of the user's gaze to determinea location that is selected by the user's gaze. In some embodiments, theselection input includes a gesture input (e.g., touching a location,pointing at a location, tapping or pinching while the gaze is directedto a location, etc.). In some embodiments, the selected display locationis the user's hand. For example, in response to detecting the userraising his/her palm toward his/her eyes in conjunction with detectingthe user's query, the computer system focuses the representation 7108 ofthe one or more projections of light onto the representation of theuser's palm, and ultimately displays the visual content at a positionthat corresponds to the location of the user's palm.

FIG. 7E illustrates that at a time T3 after the time T2 in FIG. 7D, thecomputer system has selected a display location for the visual contentthat correspond to the user's query 7202 (e.g., based on presetcriteria, based on user's selection input, etc.), and the computersystem displays a representation 7110 of the one or more projections oflight that is focused on the selected display location. In FIG. 7E, theanimated changes in first representation 7108 of the one or moreprojections of light includes transforming the first representation 7108into a second representation 7110 of the one or more projections oflight that is focused on a first sub-portion of the three-dimensionalenvironment 7003 (e.g., the central portion of the top surface of therepresentation 7102′ of the object 7102, another sub-portion, etc.) thatis smaller than the initial area that the representation of the virtualillumination spans (e.g., as that shown in FIGS. 7B-7D). In someembodiments, the focusing of the representation 7110 of the one or moreprojections of light serves to draw the user's attention to the selecteddisplay location in the first sub-portion of the three-dimensionalenvironment (e.g., the central portion of the top surface of therepresentation 7102′ of the physical object 7102, in this example). Insome embodiments, the focusing of the representation 7110 of the one ormore projections of light also serves to prepare a more suitablebackground environment for displaying the visual content correspondingto the user's query (e.g., blurring out the top surface of therepresentation 7102′ to make a less distracting background, making theregion brighter, and/or providing a more even background to make thevisual content easier to see, etc.).

FIG. 7F illustrates that at a time T4 after the time T3 shown in FIG.7E, the computer system displays the visual content 7104 at the selecteddisplay location on the top surface of the representation 7102′ of theobject 7102, in accordance with some embodiments. In FIG. 7F, the secondrepresentation 7110 of the one or more projections of light remainsfocused at a position corresponding to selected display location in thethree-dimensional environment 7003. In some embodiments, the visualcontent is displayed with a preset spatial relationship relative to theselected display location (e.g., parallel to, upright relative to,overlaying, etc.).

In some embodiments, when displaying the representations of the virtualassistant, the virtual illumination associated with the virtualassistant, and/or the visual content responsive to the query atpositions that correspond to locations of one or more physical objectsin the physical environment, representations of the virtual assistant,the virtual illumination associated with the virtual assistant, and/orthe visual content responsive to the query are displayed in placed of(e.g., replacing display of) a portion of the live view (e.g., a portionof the physical environment captured in the live view) of the cameras.In some embodiments, representations of the virtual assistant, thevirtual illumination associated with the virtual assistant, and/or thevisual content responsive to the query are projected onto the physicalsurfaces or empty space in the physical environment and are visiblethrough the pass-through portion of the display generation component(e.g., viewable as part of the camera view of the physical environment,or through the transparent or semi-transparent portion of the displaygeneration component, etc.). In some embodiments, representations of thevirtual assistant, the virtual illumination associated with the virtualassistant, and/or the visual content responsive to the query aredisplayed to overlay a portion of the display and blocks the view of atleast a portion of, but not all of, the physical environment visiblethrough the transparent or semi-transparent portion of the displaygeneration component. In some embodiments, representations of thevirtual assistant, the virtual illumination associated with the virtualassistant, and/or the visual content responsive to the query areprojected directly onto the user's retina at positions relative to animage of the representation of the physical environment (e.g., as viewedthrough a camera view of the physical environment, or through atransparent portion of the display generation component, etc.). In someembodiments, the appearance of the representations of physical objectsand space located behind (e.g., from the perspective of the viewpoint,from the perspective of the user, etc.) the representations of thevirtual assistant, the virtual illumination associated with the virtualassistant, and/or the visual content responsive to the query are altereddue to the appearance of the representations of the virtual assistant,the virtual illumination associated with the virtual assistant, and/orthe visual content responsive to the query. In some embodiments, theappearance of the representations of physical objects and spaceintersecting with (e.g., blocking, in the path of, etc.) therepresentations of the virtual assistant, the virtual illuminationassociated with the virtual assistant, and/or the visual contentresponsive to the query are altered due to the appearance of therepresentations of the virtual assistant, the virtual illuminationassociated with the virtual assistant, and/or the visual contentresponsive to the query. In some embodiments, the appearance of therepresentations of physical objects and space adjacent to (e.g., above,below, next to, etc.) the representations of the virtual assistant, thevirtual illumination associated with the virtual assistant, and/or thevisual content responsive to the query are altered due to the appearanceof the representations of the virtual assistant, the virtualillumination associated with the virtual assistant, and/or the visualcontent responsive to the query.

In some embodiments, the visual content 7104 includes a plurality ofselectable options, a communication user interface, an interactive map,a written response, a pictorial response, a menu, a control panel, auser interface including interactive elements, a virtual menu withselectable options, a virtual list of content items, images, searchresults, etc., etc. that correspond to the user's query.

In some embodiments, for example, where the query 7202 corresponds to arequest to interact with another user (e.g., “Hey Assistant, please findSam.” “Hey assistant, who is available to talk?”, etc.), the visualcontent 7104 responding to the query 7202 includes respectiverepresentations of one or more users (e.g., a representation of a seconduser (e.g., Sam), avatars of the user's contacts that are currentlyonline and/or available for shared experiences, etc.) other than theuser of the display generation component. In some embodiments, thecomputer system detects a second input (e.g., a gaze input, a gestureinput, a touch input, etc.) directed to the representation of arespective user (e.g., the avatar of the respective user) displayed atthe selected display location. In response to detecting the secondinput, the computer system performs an operation to initiate a sharedcomputer experience (e.g., a video or audio chat, etc.) between the userof the display generation component and the respective user (e.g., inthe three-dimensional environment 7003, or another virtual or augmentedreality environment, etc.).

In some embodiments, input gestures used in the various examples andembodiments described herein (e.g., with respect to FIGS. 7A-7F, andFIG. 8 ) optionally include discrete, small motion gestures performed bymovement of the user's finger(s) relative to other finger(s) or part(s)of the user's hand, optionally, without requiring major movement of theuser's whole hand or arm away from their natural location(s) andposture(s)) to perform operations immediately prior to or during thegesture) for interacting with a virtual or mixed-reality environment, inaccordance with some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the input gestures are detected by analyzing dataor signals captured by a sensor system (e.g., sensors 190, FIG. 1 ;image sensors 314, FIG. 3 ). In some embodiments, the sensor systemincludes one or more imaging sensors (e.g., one or more cameras such asmotion RGB cameras, infrared cameras, depth cameras, etc.). For example,the one or more imaging sensors are components of or provide data to acomputer system (e.g., computer system 101 in FIG. 1 (e.g., a portableelectronic device 7100 or an HMD)) that includes a display generationcomponent (e.g., display generation component 120 in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4(e.g., a touch-screen display that serves as a display and atouch-sensitive surface, a stereoscopic display, a display with apass-through portion, etc.). In some embodiments, the one or moreimaging sensors include one or more rear-facing cameras on a side of adevice opposite from a display of the device. In some embodiments, theinput gestures are detected by a sensor system of a head mounted system(e.g., a VR headset that includes a stereoscopic display that provides aleft image for the user's left eye and a right image for the user'sright eye). For example, one or more cameras that are components of thehead mounted system are mounted on the front and/or underside of thehead mounted system. In some embodiments, one or more imaging sensorsare located in a space in which the head mounted system is used (e.g.,arrayed around head mounted system in various locations in a room) suchthat the imaging sensors capture images of the head mounted systemand/or the user of the head mounted system. In some embodiments, theinput gestures are detected by a sensor system of a heads up device(such as a heads up display, automotive windshield with the ability todisplay graphics, window with the ability to display graphics, lens withthe ability to display graphics). For example, one or more imagingsensors are attached to interior surfaces of an automobile. In someembodiments, the sensor system includes one or more depth sensors (e.g.,an array of sensors). For example, the one or more depth sensors includeone or more light-based (e.g., infrared) sensors and/or one or moresound-based (e.g., ultrasonic) sensors. In some embodiments, the sensorsystem includes one or more signal emitters, such as a light emitter(e.g. infrared emitter) and/or sound emitter (e.g., ultrasound emitter).For example, while light (e.g., light from an array of infrared lightemitters having a predetermined pattern) is projected onto a hand (e.g.,hand 7200), an image of the hand under illumination of the light iscaptured by the one or more cameras and the captured image is analyzedto determine a position and/or configuration of the hand. Using signalsfrom image sensors directed to the hand to determine input gestures, asopposed to using signals of touch-sensitive surfaces or other directcontact mechanism or proximity-based mechanisms allow the user to freelychoose whether to execute large motions or remaining relativelystationary when providing the input gestures with his/her hand, withoutexperiencing constraints imposed by a specific input device or inputregion.

In some embodiments, a tap input is, optionally, a tap input of a thumbover index finger (e.g., over a side of the index finger adjacent to thethumb) of a user's hand. In some embodiments, a tap input is detectedwithout requiring lift-off of the thumb from the side of the indexfinger. In some embodiments, a tap input is detected in accordance witha determination that downward movement of the thumb are followed byupward movement of the thumb, with the thumb making contact with theside of the index finger for less than a threshold amount of time. Insome embodiments, a tap-hold input is detected in accordance with adetermination that the thumb moves from the raised position to thetouch-down position and remains in the touch-down position for at leasta first threshold amount of time (e.g., the tap time threshold oranother time threshold that is longer than the tap time threshold). Insome embodiments, the computer system requires that the hand as a wholeremains substantially stationary in location for at least the firstthreshold amount of time in order to detect the tap-hold input by thethumb on the index finger. In some embodiments, the touch-hold input isdetected without requiring that the hand as a whole is keptsubstantially stationary (e.g., the hand as a whole may move while thethumb rests on the side of the index finger). In some embodiments, atap-hold-drag input is detected when the thumb touches down on the sideof the index finger and the hand as a whole moves while the thumb restson the side of the index finger.

In some embodiments, a flick gesture is, optionally, a push or flickinput by a movement of a thumb across index finger (e.g., from the palmside to the back side of the index finger). In some embodiments, theextension movement of the thumb is accompanied by upward movement awayfrom the side of the index finger, e.g., as in an upward flick input bythe thumb. In some embodiments, the index finger moves in the oppositedirection from that of the thumb during the forward and upward movementof the thumb. In some embodiments, a reverse flick input is performed bythe thumb moving from an extended position to a retracted position. Insome embodiments, the index finger moves in the opposite direction fromthat of the thumb during the backward and downward movement of thethumb.

In some embodiments, a swipe gesture is, optionally, a swipe input by amovement of a thumb along index finger (e.g., along a side of the indexfinger adjacent to the thumb or on the side of the palm). In someembodiments, the index finger is optionally in an extended state (e.g.,substantially straight) or a curled up state. In some embodiments, theindex finger moves between the extended state and the curled up stateduring the movement of the thumb in a swipe input gesture.

In some embodiments, different phalanges of various fingers correspondto different inputs. A tap input of thumb over various phalanges ofvarious fingers (e.g., index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and,optionally, pinky finger) are optionally mapped to different operations.Similarly, in some embodiments, different push or click inputs can beperformed by the thumb across different fingers and/or different partsof a finger to trigger different operations in a respective userinterface contact. Similarly, in some embodiments, different swipeinputs performed by the thumb along different fingers and/or indifferent directions (e.g., toward the distal or proximal end of afinger) trigger different operations in a respective user interfacecontext.

In some embodiments, the computer system treats tap inputs, flickinputs, and swipe inputs are treated as different types of inputs basedon movement types of the thumb. In some embodiments, the computer-systemtreats inputs having different finger locations that are tapped,touched, or swiped by the thumb as different sub-input-types (e.g.,proximal, middle, distal subtypes, or index, middle, ring, or pinkysubtypes) of a given input type (e.g., a tap input type, a flick inputtype, a swipe input type, etc.). In some embodiments, the amount ofmovement performed by the moving finger (e.g., thumb) and or othermovement metrics associated with the movement of the finger (e.g.,speed, initial speed, ending speed, duration, direction, movementpattern, etc.) is used to quantitatively affect the operation that istriggered by the finger input.

In some embodiments, the computer-system recognizes combination inputtypes that combines a sequence of movements by the thumb, such as atap-swipe input (e.g., touch-down of thumb on a finger followed byswiping along the side of the finger), a tap-flick input (e.g.,touch-down of thumb over a finger followed by a flick across the fingerfrom palm side to back side of the finger), a double tap input (e.g.,two consecutive taps on the side of a finger at about the samelocation), etc.

In some embodiments, the gesture inputs are performed by an index fingerinstead of the thumb (e.g., index finger performs the tap or swipe onthe thumb, or the thumb and the index finger move toward each other toperform a pinch gesture, etc.). In some embodiments, a wrist movement(e.g., a flick of the wrist in a horizontal direction, or a verticaldirection) is performed immediately preceding, immediately succeeding(e.g., within a threshold amount of time) or contemporaneously with thefinger movement inputs to trigger additional operations, differentoperations, or modified operations in the current user interfacecontext, as compared to the finger movement inputs without the modifierinput by the wrist movement. In some embodiments, the finger inputgestures performed with the user's palm facing the user's face aretreated as a different type of gestures from finger input gesturesperformed with the user's palm facing away from the user's face. Forexample, a tap gesture performed with the user's palm facing the userperforms an operation with added (or reduced) privacy safeguard ascompared to an operation (e.g., the same operation) performed inresponse to a tap gesture performed with the user's palm facing awayfrom the user's face.

Although one type of finger input may be used to trigger a type ofoperation in the examples provided in this disclosure, other types offinger input are optionally used for trigger the same type of operationin other embodiments.

Additional descriptions regarding FIGS. 7A-7F are provided below inreferences to method 8000 described with respect to FIG. 8 below.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method 8000 of displaying and moving virtualillumination associated with a virtual assistant in a three-dimensionalenvironment in response to user interaction with the virtual assistant,in accordance with some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the method 8000 is performed at a computer system(e.g., computer system 101 in FIG. 1 ) including a display generationcomponent (e.g., display generation component 120 in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4 )(e.g., a heads-up display, a display, a touchscreen, a projector, etc.)and one or more cameras (e.g., a camera (e.g., color sensors, infraredsensors, and other depth-sensing cameras) that points downward at auser's hand or a camera that points forward from the user's head). Insome embodiments, the method 8000 is governed by instructions that arestored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and that areexecuted by one or more processors of a computer system, such as the oneor more processors 202 of computer system 101 (e.g., control unit 110 inFIG. 1A). Some operations in method 8000 are, optionally, combinedand/or the order of some operations is, optionally, changed.

In some embodiments, the method 8000 is performed at a computer system(e.g., computer system 101 in FIG. 1 ) that is in communication with afirst display generation component (e.g., display generation component120 in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4 , display generation component 7100, etc.)(e.g., a heads-up display, an HMD, a display, a touchscreen, aprojector, etc.), one or more audio output devices (e.g., earphones,speakers located in the physical environment, speakers within the samehousing or attached to the same support structure as the first displaygeneration component (e.g., built-in speakers of an HMD, etc.)), and oneor more input devices (e.g., cameras, controllers, touch-sensitivesurfaces, joysticks, buttons, gloves, watches, motion sensors,orientation sensors, etc.). In some embodiments, the first displaygeneration component is a display component facing the user and providesa CGR experience to the user. In some embodiments, the computer systemis an integrated device with one or more processors and memory enclosedin the same housing as the first display generation components, the oneor more audio output devices, and at least some of the one or more inputdevices. In some embodiments, the computer system includes a computingcomponent (e.g., a server, a mobile electronic device such as a smartphone or tablet device, a wearable device such as a watch, wristband, orearphones, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, etc.) that includesone or more processors and memory that is separate from one or more ofthe display generation components (e.g., a heads-up display, atouch-screen, a standalone display, etc.), the one or more outputdevices (e.g., earphones, external speakers, etc.) and the one or moreinput devices. In some embodiments, the display generation componentsand the one or more audio output devices are integrated and enclosed inthe same housing.

In the method 8000, the computer system displays (8002), by the firstdisplay generation component a first view of a first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment (e.g., the first view 7002 of theenvironment 7003 in FIG. 7B, a view of another environment, etc.) (e.g.,the first computer-generated environment is a mixed reality environmentthat includes one or more virtual objects and a representation of atleast a portion of a physical environment surrounding the first displaygeneration component, or a pass-through view of a physical environment(e.g., a camera view or a view through a transparent portion of thefirst display generation component) that does not include any virtualcontent). The first view of the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment includes a representation of a respectiveportion of a physical environment (e.g., physical environment 105 inFIG. 7A, or another physical environment, etc.) (e.g., a portion of thephysical environment that is in front of the user wearing the HMD, orholding a display generation component, etc.). The computer system alsodisplays (8002) a first representation of one or more projections oflight (e.g., a representation of a projection of light 7108 in FIG. 7B,another representation of virtual illumination associated with thevirtual assistant, etc.) in a first portion of the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment (e.g., the portion ofthe environment 7003 that has a brighter appearance in FIG. 7B, theportion of the environment that has a changed appearance due to thevirtual illumination associated with the virtual assistant, etc.). Theappearance of the first representation of the one or more projections oflight (e.g., the appearance of the representation of the projections oflight (e.g., represented by illumination of surrounding virtual orphysical environment, a light spot, simulated path of light, reflection,etc.) will change in accordance with the static or changing position,orientation, and/or appearance (e.g., color, brightness, size, shape,surface texture, transparency, etc.) of the virtual assistant in thecomputer-generated environment, etc.) indicates a spatial relationship(e.g., relative direction, orientation, distance, size, spatial extent,shape, etc.) between a virtual assistant present in the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment (e.g., as a virtualobject within the first view or outside of the first view of thethree-dimensional environment, or disembodied and not embodied in aconcrete form or object) and the representation of the respectiveportion of the physical environment in the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment. For example, the representation of therespective portion of the physical environment has a fixed spatialrelationship to the first portion of the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment, and therefore a spatial relationship tothe first representation of the one or more projections of light (e.g.,as the projections of light moves relative to the first portion of thefirst computer-generated three-dimensional environment). In the exampleshown in FIG. 7B, the position of the virtual assistant is above theportion of the environment 7003 that is shown by the display generationcomponent 7100, and a little to the left of the center line of theportion of the environment 7003 shown in by the display generationcomponent. While displaying the first view of the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment and the firstrepresentation of the one or more projections of light (e.g., the firstrepresentation of the projections of light is animated to indicate awaiting or listening state of the virtual assistant (e.g., therepresentation of light changes in accordance with the changes in theappearance of the virtual assistant in the waiting or listening state)where the virtual assistant is waiting for verbal input and is preparedto process the verbal input to perform one or more operationscorresponding to the input such as answering query or changing anappearance of a portion of the computer-generated environment (e.g., inaccordance with changes in the appearance of the virtual assistant inthe waiting or listening state, or changing without requiring thepresence of the virtual assistant in the current view of thethree-dimensional environment, etc.)), the computer system detects(8004), from a first user, a query directed to the virtual assistant(e.g., a query 7202, another query, another user input that correspondsto an interaction that requires a response from the virtual assistant,etc.) (e.g., including detecting a voice input (e.g., “Assistant,where's the nearest library?”), a gaze input in conjunction with a voiceinput (e.g., “What is that?” or “Turn it on”), a gesture input forperforming an operation that is associated with the virtual assistant(e.g., a gesture for invoking an operation that is not permitted in thecurrent context, a gesture asking for help from the virtual assistant,etc.), etc.). In response to detecting (8006) the query directed to thevirtual assistant, the computer system displays (8008) animated changesof the first representation of the one or more projections of light inthe first portion (e.g., the first portion of the three-dimensionalenvironment includes a representation of a physical surface (e.g., atable surface, or surface of an electronic device, etc.), a virtualobject, or a representation of a physical object, etc.) of the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment (e.g., the animatedchanges to the representation 7108 in FIGS. 7B-7F, other animatedchanges, etc.), where displaying the animated changes includesdisplaying a second representation of the one or more projections oflight (e.g., the representation 7108 or 7110 as shown in FIGS. 7C, 7D,7E, and 7F, etc.) that is focused on a first sub-portion of the firstportion of the first computer-generated three-dimensional environment(e.g., reducing a spatial extent of the representation of the lightshone on a representation of a physical surface to a spotlight shone on(e.g., overlaying, blocking display of, modifying the appearance of,etc.) the representation of a sub-portion of the surface). In someembodiments, dynamic changes in the representation of the projections oflight displayed at a position corresponding to (e.g., overlaying,blocking display of, modifying the appearance of, etc.) the surfaces inthe three-dimensional environment persist at least from a first timebefore any content responding to the user query (e.g., answers to theuser query, as opposed to textual transcription of the query itself) ispresented in the three-dimensional environment to a second time up to orafter the content responding to the user query is presented in thethree-dimensional environment. In some embodiments, during the time thatthe projections of light are displayed, the dynamic changes in therepresentation of the projections of light move and focus on arepresentation of a portion of a surface or object represented in thethree-dimensional environment on/at which the content responding to theuser query will be presented, so as to guide the user's attention to therepresentation of that portion of the surface or object before thecontent is ultimately presented. In some embodiments, the animatedchanges are a smooth animation that transitions between the firstrepresentation and the second representation, where the firstrepresentation ceases to be displayed at the end of the animatedchanges. In some embodiments, the changes between the firstrepresentation and the second representation correspond to a simulationof focusing one or more beams of light on the first sub-portion of thefirst portion of the first computer-generated environment. Afterdisplaying the animated changes of the first representation of the oneor more projections of light (and optionally, while the secondrepresentation of the one or more projections of light are focused on(e.g., overlaying, replacing display of, modifying the appearance of,etc.) the representation of the first sub-portion, less than all, of thefirst portion of the three-dimensional environment), the computer systemdisplays (8010) content (e.g., virtual objects or content 7104-1 and7104-2 in FIG. 7F, or other content, etc.) responding to the query(e.g., a plurality of selectable options, a communication userinterface, an interactive map, etc.) at a position corresponding to thefirst sub-portion of the first portion of the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment. For example, in some embodiments, thecontent is displayed as a virtual object or surface that is displayedwith a preset spatial relationship (e.g., substantially parallel to,substantially perpendicular to, hovering over, overlaying or replacingdisplay of, etc.) relative to the representation of the firstsub-portion of the first portion of the three-dimensional environment(e.g., a representation of a portion of a table surface, a portion of avirtual object, a representation of a portion of a physical object,etc.).

In some embodiments, while detecting the query directed to the virtualassistant (e.g., throughout at least the duration of the user query),the computer system displays continuous animation of the firstrepresentation of the one or more projections of light (e.g., indicatingthe listening state of the virtual assistant) (e.g., as shown in FIGS.7C-7D, where the representation 7108 of light associated with thevirtual assistant continues to change as the user utters the query),where displaying the continuous animation includes displayingalterations (e.g., flickering, transient representation, rotation, etc.)of a respective representation of at least one projection of light inthe one or more projections of light at a position corresponding to asecond sub-portion of the first portion of the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment. For example, in some embodiments, thecontinuous animations are overlaid on, replace display of, and/or modifyan appearance of a virtual object or surface that is displayed with apreset spatial relationship (e.g., substantially parallel to, orsubstantially perpendicular to) relative to the second sub-portion ofthe first portion of the three-dimensional environment (e.g., arepresentation of a portion of a table surface, a portion of a virtualobject, a representation of a portion of a physical object, etc.). Insome embodiments, the second sub-portion of the first portion of thethree-dimensional environment is the first sub-portion of the firstportion of the three-dimensional environment. In some embodiments, thefirst and second sub-portions are distinct sub-portions of the firstportion of the three-dimensional environment. In some embodiments, thesecond sub-portion is smaller than (e.g., is located within) the firstsub-portion (e.g., the continuous animations take up less space in thethree-dimensional environment than the first sub-portion). In someembodiments, the second sub-portion is larger than (e.g., encompasses)the first sub-portion (e.g., the continuous animations take up morespace in the three-dimensional environment than the first sub-portion).Displaying the continuous animation of the first representation of theone or more projections of light, including displaying alterations of arespective representation of at least one projection of light in the oneor more projections of light at a position corresponding to a secondsub-portion of the first portion of the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment, provides improved visual feedback to theuser (e.g., that the virtual assistant is in a listening state).Providing improved feedback enhances the operability of the device,which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life ofthe device by enabling the user to use the device more quickly andefficiently.

In some embodiments, at least one of the first sub-portion and thesecond sub-portion of the first computer-generated three-dimensionalenvironment includes a representation of a first surface (e.g., surfaceof physical object 7102, surface of floor 7008, etc.) in the respectiveportion of the physical environment. In some embodiments, displaying thecontinuous animation includes displaying alterations (e.g., flickering,transient representation, rotation, etc.) of the respectiverepresentation of at least one projection of light in the one or moreprojections of light at a position that corresponds to (e.g.,overlaying, replacing display of, and/or modifying the appearance of)the representation of the first surface in the respective portion of thephysical environment (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 7C-7D, the representation7108 of the light associated with the virtual assistant continues tochange in various portions of representations of the surfaces of theobject 7102 and floor 7008). For example, in some embodiments, therepresentation of the light emanating from the representation of thevirtual assistant moves and shimmers across a representation of a floorsurface onto a representation of the top of a table resting on thefloor, and then focuses on (e.g., reduces its spatial extent at aposition that overlays, replaces display of, and/or modifies anappearance of, etc.) a portion of the representation of the table topwhere the virtual assistant (e.g., through the operation of the computersystem) displays the answer to the user's query at the positioncorresponding to the representation of the top of the table within theportion of the representation of the table top on which therepresentation of the light was focused. Displaying the continuousanimation, including displaying alterations of the respectiverepresentation of at least one projection of light in the one or moreprojections of light at a position that corresponds to therepresentation of the first surface in the respective portion of thephysical environment, provides improved visual feedback to the user(e.g., that the virtual assistant is in a listening state). Providingimproved feedback enhances the operability of the device, which,additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of thedevice by enabling the user to use the device more quickly andefficiently.

In some embodiments, the first sub-portion of the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment includes arepresentation of a second surface (e.g., a top surface of the object7102) in the respective portion of the physical environment, anddisplaying the content responding to the query (e.g., a plurality ofselectable options, a communication user interface, an interactive map,etc.) at the position corresponding to the first sub-portion of thefirst portion of the first computer-generated three-dimensionalenvironment includes displaying the content responding to the query at aposition corresponding to (e.g., overlaying, replacing display of,and/or modifying appearance of, etc.) the representation of the secondsurface in the respective portion of the physical environment (e.g., asshown in FIG. 7F, where the content 7104 is displayed at a positioncorresponding to the location of the top surface of the object 7102).For example, in some embodiments, the light appearing to emanate fromthe representation of the virtual assistant moves and shimmers acrossthe representation of a room onto a representation of the top of a tableor a wall, and then focuses on a portion of the representation of thetable top or a portion of the representation of the wall where thevirtual assistant (e.g., through the operation of the computer system)displays the answer to the user's query at a position corresponding tothe top of the table or the wall within the portion of representation ofthe table top or wall on which the light was focused. For example, insome embodiments, the content responding to the query optionallyincludes three-dimensional objects that are oriented relative to theorientation of the representation of the second surface (e.g., thethree-dimensional object appearing to be sitting upright on therepresentation of the table top, the three-dimensional object appearingto be resting with its back against the representation of the wall, theanswer appearing to be scrolling along the sideways direction defined bythe representation of the wall or table top, etc.). In some embodiments,the content responding to the query appears as if it were a hologramprojected onto the representation of the second surface (e.g., thecontent appears to be raised from the plane of the representation of thesecond surface into the space above the plane of the representation ofthe second surface). Displaying the content responding to the query at aposition corresponding to the representation of the second surface inthe respective portion of the physical environment provides improvedvisual feedback to the user (e.g., by drawing attention to a distinctlocation where the content responding to the query will be displayed).Providing improved feedback enhances the operability of the device,which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life ofthe device by enabling the user to use the device more quickly andefficiently.

In some embodiments, displaying the animated changes includes moving asource of the one or more projections of light (e.g., the source is arepresentation 7020 of the virtual assistant in the example shown inFIGS. 7C-7F) (e.g., moving the virtual assistant or a disembodiedrepresentation of the virtual assistant, etc.) in the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment toward the firstsub-portion of the first portion of the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment. In some embodiments, as the source of theone or more projections of light moves toward the location where theanswer to the query would be displayed, the representation of the one ormore projections of light also start to focus on the location.Displaying the animated changes, including moving a source of the one ormore projections of light in the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment toward the first sub-portion of the firstportion of the first computer-generated three-dimensional environment,provides improved visual feedback to the user (e.g., drawing attentionto the location where the answer to the query will be displayed, bymoving the source of the one or more projection of light towards thelocation where the answer to a query will be displayed). Providingimproved feedback enhances the operability of the device, which,additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of thedevice by enabling the user to use the device more quickly andefficiently.

In some embodiments, moving the source of the one or more projections oflight toward the first sub-portion of the first portion of the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment includes: at a firsttime before detecting the query directed to the virtual assistant,displaying the first representation of the one or more projections oflight without displaying a user interface object corresponding to thevirtual assistant (e.g., a glowing avatar of the virtual assistant)within the first view of the first computer-generated three-dimensionalenvironment including the representation of the respective portion ofthe physical environment (e.g., as shown in FIG. 7B, the representation7020 of the virtual object is not within the view 7002 of theenvironment 7003, but the representation 7018 of the light associatedwith the virtual assistant is); and, at a second time after detectingthe query directed to the virtual assistant, displaying the userinterface object corresponding to the virtual assistant within therepresentation of the respective portion of the physical environment anddisplaying the first representation of the one or more projections oflight extending outward from the user interface object corresponding tothe virtual assistant (e.g., as shown in FIG. 7C, the representation7020 of the virtual object is also within the view 7002 of theenvironment 7003, along with the representation 7018 of the lightassociated with the virtual assistant). In some embodiments, even thoughthe user interface object corresponding to the virtual assistant is notvisible within the first view of the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment, the presence and/or availability of thevirtual assistant is hinted at with the representation of the one ormore projections of light displayed near the peripheral region of thefirst view of the computer-generated three-dimensional environment(e.g., hinting that the user interface object will come into view fromthe peripheral region of the computer-generated environment). In someembodiments, the before the query is detected, other visual indications(e.g., an on/off indicator, a textual prompt, etc.) and/or a non-visualindication (e.g., music or sound effect, alert sound, etc.) of thepresence and/or availability of the virtual assistant outside of thefirst view of the first computer-generated three-dimensional environmentis, optionally, provided in addition to, or instead of, the display ofthe first representation of the one or more projections of light. Insome embodiments, the user interface object corresponding to the virtualassistant is not visible in the displayed view of the physicalenvironment and only the representation of the virtual light emanatingfrom the virtual assistant is visible; and after the user interfaceobject corresponding to the virtual assistant moves from outside of thedisplayed view of the physical environment to within the displayed viewof the physical environment in response to the user's query, therepresentation of the light continues to move (e.g., changing directionand extending away from the representation of the virtual assistant)toward the location where the answer to the query will be displayed (andoptionally stops at a preset distance away from that location).

Displaying the virtual assistant, at a second time after detecting thequery directed to the virtual assistant, within the representation ofthe respective portion of the physical environment and displaying thefirst representation of one or more projections of light extendingoutward from the user interface object corresponding to the virtualassistant, after first displaying, at a first time before detecting thequery directed to the virtual assistant, the first representation of oneor more projection of light without displaying a user interface objectcorresponding to the virtual assistant, provides improved visualfeedback to the user (e.g., by drawing attention to the location wherethe answer to the query will be displayed). Providing improved feedbackenhances the operability of the device, which, additionally, reducespower usage and improves battery life of the device by enabling the userto use the device more quickly and efficiently.

In some embodiments, the computer system detects, by the one or moreinput devices, a first input that meets first criteria associated withidentifying a location of attention of the first user providing thequery (e.g., the first criteria include at least a first criterion thatis met when the first input includes a gaze input or a gesture input(e.g., a pointing finger, a hand gesture, etc.) directed towards arespective object or surface in the representation of the respectiveportion of the physical environment shown in the first view of the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment (e.g., wherein the gazeinput and gesture input meets preset stability and duration criteriawhile being directed towards the respective object or surface), in orderfor the first criteria to be met). The first sub-portion of the firstportion of the first computer-generated three-dimensional environmentonto which the one more projections of light is focused (and where therepresentation of which the content corresponding to the user query isdisplayed) is selected by the computer system in accordance with thefirst input that meets the first criteria associated with identifyingthe location of attention of the first user providing the query. In someembodiments, other types of input (e.g., a tap input on atouch-sensitive surface, a swipe input on a touch sensitive surface, aninput on a controller or joystick, etc.) than gaze or gesture are usedto focus on a respective object in the three-dimensional environment.Focusing the one or more projections of light onto the first sub-portionof the first portion of the first computer-generated three-dimensionalenvironment in accordance with a first input that meets first criteriaassociated with identifying a location of attention of the first userproviding the query provides improved visual feedback to the user (e.g.,by providing visual feedback regarding the location of the user'sattention). Providing improved feedback enhances the operability of thedevice, which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves batterylife of the device by enabling the user to use the device more quicklyand efficiently.

In some embodiments, the first input that meets the first criteria is agaze input that is detected in conjunction with detection of the query(e.g., the gaze input and the user query are provided by the same user,and the gaze input is detected at a time that is proximate to (e.g.,before, during, and/or within a threshold amount of time of) the timethat the user query is detected),where the gaze input meets presetstability criteria (e.g., the location of the gaze input exhibits lessthan a threshold amount of movement during a threshold amount of time)at a position in the first computer-generated three-dimensionalenvironment that corresponds to a location of a physical object orsurface in the respective portion of the physical environment. Detectinga gaze input that meets preset stability criteria at a position in thefirst computer-generated three-dimensional environment that correspondsto a location of a physical object or surface in the respective portionof the physical environment provides additional control options withoutcluttering the UI with additional displayed controls (e.g., additionaldisplayed controls for selecting the physical object or surface).Providing additional control options without cluttering the UI withadditional displayed controls enhances the operability of the device,which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life ofthe device by enabling the user to use the device more quickly andefficiently.

In some embodiments, the first input that meets the first criteria is agesture input that is detected in conjunction with detection of thequery (e.g., the gesture input and the user query are provided by thesame user, and the gesture input is detected at a time that is proximateto (e.g., before, during, and/or within a threshold amount of time of)the time that the user query is detected), where the gesture input isdirected to (e.g., a finger or hand points to, gesture input (e.g., airtap, pinch, etc.) detected while a gaze input is directed to thelocation, etc.) a position in the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment that corresponds to a location of aphysical object or surface in the respective portion of the physicalenvironment. Detecting a gesture input directed to a position in thefirst computer-generated three-dimensional environment that correspondsto a location of a physical object or surface in the respective portionof the physical environment, in conjunction with detecting the query,provides additional control options without cluttering the UI withadditional displayed controls (e.g., additional displayed controls forselecting the physical object or surface). Providing additional controloptions without cluttering the UI with additional displayed controlsenhances the operability of the device, which, additionally, reducespower usage and improves battery life of the device by enabling the userto use the device more quickly and efficiently.

In some embodiments, the content responding to the query includes arepresentation of a second user (e.g., an avatar of the second user, anindication that the second user is available for communication or ashared computer-generated experience, etc.) that is different from thefirst user. The computer system displays, concurrently with therepresentation of the second user, a first visual indication (e.g., acopresence indication, an availability indication, etc.) that the seconduser is available to interact with the first user (e.g., users who arecurrently immersed in the three-dimensional environment, and/or who havemade themselves available for joining the three-dimensional environmentupon request by a user of the computer system) in the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment. Displaying,concurrently with the representation of the second user, a first visualindication that the second user is available to interact with the firstuser in the first computer-generated three-dimensional environment,provides improved visual feedback to the first user (e.g., allowing thefirst user to see both the representation of the second user and theavailability of the second user to interact with the first user).Providing improved feedback enhances the operability of the device,which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life ofthe device by enabling the user to use the device more quickly andefficiently.

In some embodiments, while displaying the first visual indication in thefirst view of the first computer-generated three-dimensionalenvironment, the computer system detects, by the one or more inputdevices, a second input (e.g., a gaze input) that is directed to therepresentation of the second user. In response to detecting the secondinput that is directed to the representation of the second user and inaccordance with a determination that the second input meets secondcriteria (e.g., selection criteria) (e.g., wherein a gaze input meetspreset stability and duration criteria while being directed towards therepresentation of the second user, and optionally, the gaze input isdetected in conjunction with an hand gesture that meets activationcriteria (e.g., an in-air tap input, a tap gesture, a pinch gesturebetween a finger and a portion of the hand of the finger etc.)), thecomputer system initiates a shared computer-generated experience betweenthe first user and the second user (e.g., a video chat, copresence in ashared three-dimensional space, etc.). Initiating a sharedcomputer-generated experience between the first user and the second userin response to detecting the second input that meets second criteria andis directed to the representation of the second user, providesadditional control options without cluttering the UI with additionaldisplayed controls (e.g., additional displayed controls for initiatingthe shared computer-generated experience). Providing additional controloptions without cluttering the UI with additional displayed controlsenhances the operability of the device, which, additionally, reducespower usage and improves battery life of the device by enabling the userto use the device more quickly and efficiently.

In some embodiments, the computer system displays a user interfaceobject corresponding to the virtual assistant with a respective one of aplurality of appearances (e.g., different combinations of colors,shapes, spatial extent, orientation, internal structures, brightness,etc.) in the first view of the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment, where the plurality of appearancescorrespond to a plurality of different states (e.g., idle state (e.g.,triggered after prolonged absence of a query), activated state (e.g.,triggered upon detection of a start of a query), listening state (e.g.,triggered after detection of the start of the query and maintainedduring receiving input of the query), processing state (e.g., triggeredafter completion of the receiving of the query and maintained duringpreparing an answer for the query), answering state (e.g., triggeredwhen displaying the answer responding to the query), etc.) of thevirtual assistant in relation to a process for generating the contentcorresponding to the query. Displaying a user interface objectcorresponding to the virtual assistant with a respective one of aplurality of appearances, wherein the plurality of appearancescorrespond to a plurality of different states of the virtual assistantin relation to a process for generating the content corresponding to thequery, provides improved visual feedback to the user (e.g., that thevirtual assistant is idle, or processing a query, or providing an answerto the query, etc.). Providing improved feedback enhances theoperability of the device, which, additionally, reduces power usage andimproves battery life of the device by enabling the user to use thedevice more quickly and efficiently.

In some embodiments, in accordance with a determination that the virtualassistant has transitioned from a first state to a second state inrelation to the process for generating the content corresponding to thequery, where the second state is different from the first state (e.g.,from idle state to activated state, from activated state or idle stateto listening state, from listening state to processing state, fromprocessing state or listening state to answer state, from answer stateto idle state or listening state, etc.), the computer system displays ananimated transition from displaying the user interface objectcorresponding to the virtual assistant with a first appearance thatcorresponds to the first state to displaying the user interface objectwith a second appearance that corresponds to the second state. Thecomputer system displays animated changes in the first representation ofone or more projections of light in accordance with changing the userinterface object from the first appearance to the second appearance.

In some embodiments, the user interface object that corresponds to thevirtual assistant is an illuminating shape (e.g., a sphericalrepresentation of light, a glowing ball, a glowing avatar, etc.) thatchanges through different states in the process of responding to a queryfrom a user. In some embodiments, displaying the animated changesincludes altering size, color, movement pattern, and/or intensity of therepresentation of the light that appears to be emanating from at least aportion of the representation of the virtual assistant in thethree-dimensional environment. In some embodiments, when the virtualassistant is in an idle state (e.g., before the query is received), theilluminating representation of the virtual assistant has a small sizeand is stationary, and the representation of the virtual assistantexpands in response to detecting the start of the user's query. In someembodiments, the representation of virtual assistant moves toward theuser, and/or into the view of the user in response to detecting thestart of the user's query. In some embodiments, during the detection ofthe user's query (e.g., while the user is uttering the query in speech),the computer system displays animated changes in the appearance of thevirtual assistant and the representation of the light that appears to beemanating from the representation of the virtual assistant (e.g., therepresentations pulsate in size and bounces up and down slightly inaccordance with the rhythm of the user's speech). In some embodiments,the animated change also shows an increase in size and light intensityof the representation of the virtual assistant and the representation ofthe light that appears to be emanating from the representation of thevirtual assistant as compared to the appearance and light correspondingto the idle state of the virtual assistant (e.g., including the size andlight intensity of the representation of the virtual assistant and thesize and light intensity of the representation of light that appears toemanate from the representation of the virtual assistant, etc.). In someembodiments, while a user query is currently being received, theanimated change of the representation of the virtual assistant includespulsations in intensity of the representation of the light that appearsto be emanating from the representation of the virtual assistant. Insome embodiments, in response to and/or after receiving a user query,the animated change of the representation of the virtual assistantincludes decreasing a size of a first portion (e.g., an inner portion orinner circle) of the representation of the virtual assistant (e.g.,indicating that the virtual assistant is thinking about the user query).

Displaying an animated transition from displaying the user interfaceobject corresponding to the virtual assistant with a first appearancethat corresponds to a first state to displaying the user interfaceobject with a second appearance that corresponds to a second state, anddisplaying animated changes in the first representation of one or moreprojections of light in accordance with changing the user interfaceobject from the first appearance to the second appearance, providesimproved visual feedback to the user (e.g., by emphasizing the change instate of the virtual assistant from the first state to the secondstate). Providing improved feedback enhances the operability of thedevice, which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves batterylife of the device by enabling the user to use the device more quicklyand efficiently.

It should be understood that the particular order in which theoperations in FIG. 8 have been described is merely an example and is notintended to indicate that the described order is the only order in whichthe operations could be performed. One of ordinary skill in the artwould recognize various ways to reorder the operations described herein.The operations described above with reference to FIG. 8 are, optionally,implemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1-6 .

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical applications, to therebyenable others skilled in the art to best use the invention and variousdescribed embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: at a computing systemincluding a first display generation component and one or more inputdevices: displaying, via the first display generation component: a firstview of a first computer-generated three-dimensional environment,wherein the first view of the first computer-generated three-dimensionalenvironment includes a representation of a respective portion of aphysical environment, and a first representation of one or moreprojections of light in a first portion of the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment, wherein the first representation of theone or more projections of light has an appearance that corresponds to aspatial relationship between first virtual content present in the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment and the representationof the respective portion of the physical environment in the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment; while displaying thefirst view of the first computer-generated three-dimensionalenvironment, displaying animated changes of the first representation ofthe one or more projections of light in the first portion of the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment; and displayingalterations of an appearance of a representation of a first surface inthe respective portion of the physical environment in accordance withthe animated changes of the respective representation of at least oneprojection of light in the one or more projections of light.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, including: moving the first virtual content in thefirst computer-generated three-dimensional environment relative to therepresentation of the first surface in the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment, wherein the animated changes of the firstrepresentation of the one or more projections of light is generated inaccordance with movement of the first virtual content in the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein moving the first virtual content relative to therepresentation of the first surface in the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment includes: at a first time, displaying thefirst representation of the one or more projections of light withoutdisplaying the first virtual content within the first view of the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment including therepresentation of the respective portion of the physical environment;and at a second time after the first time, displaying the first virtualcontent within the representation of the respective portion of thephysical environment and displaying the first representation of the oneor more projections of light extending outward from the first virtualcontent within the first view of the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment.
 4. The method of claim 1, including:changing an appearance of the first virtual content in the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment, wherein the animatedchanges of the first representation of the one or more projections oflight in the first portion of the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment is generated at least in part based onchanges in the appearance of the first virtual content.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein, for at least a first period of time that the firstvirtual content is visible via the first display generation component,the first virtual content moves relative to the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment in accordance with movement of a viewpointof a user that is in a position to view content displayed via the firstdisplay generation component.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein, for atleast a first period of time that the first virtual content is visiblevia the first display generation component, the first virtual contentmaintains its position in the computer-generated three-dimensionalenvironment while a viewpoint of a user that is in a position to viewcontent displayed via the first display generation component changesrelative to the computer-generated three-dimensional environment.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, including: detecting a first gaze input directed to arespective portion of a current field of view provided by the firstdisplay generation component; and in response to detecting the firstgaze input, and in accordance with a determination that the first gazeinput meets first criteria, displaying the first virtual content in thecurrent field of view provided by the first display generationcomponent.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the alterations of theappearance of the representation of the first surface in the respectiveportion of the physical environment is further based on one or moresurface properties of the first surface.
 9. An electronic device,comprising: a first display generation component; one or more inputdevices; one or more processors; and memory storing one or moreprograms, wherein the one or more programs are configured to be executedby the one or more processors, the one or more programs includinginstructions for: displaying, via the first display generationcomponent: a first view of a first computer-generated three-dimensionalenvironment, wherein the first view of the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment includes a representation of a respectiveportion of a physical environment, and a first representation of one ormore projections of light in a first portion of the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment, wherein the firstrepresentation of the one or more projections of light has an appearancethat corresponds to a spatial relationship between first virtual contentpresent in the first computer-generated three-dimensional environmentand the representation of the respective portion of the physicalenvironment in the first computer-generated three-dimensionalenvironment; while displaying the first view of the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment, displaying animatedchanges of the first representation of the one or more projections oflight in the first portion of the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment; and displaying alterations of anappearance of a representation of a first surface in the respectiveportion of the physical environment in accordance with the animatedchanges of the respective representation of at least one projection oflight in the one or more projections of light.
 10. A computer readablestorage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programscomprising instructions, which, when executed by an electronic devicewith a first display generation component, one or more input devices,cause the electronic device to: display, via the first displaygeneration component: a first view of a first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment, wherein the first view of the firstcomputer-generated three-dimensional environment includes arepresentation of a respective portion of a physical environment, and afirst representation of one or more projections of light in a firstportion of the first computer-generated three-dimensional environment,wherein the first representation of the one or more projections of lighthas an appearance that corresponds to a spatial relationship betweenfirst virtual content present in the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment and the representation of the respectiveportion of the physical environment in the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment; while displaying the first view of thefirst computer-generated three-dimensional environment, display animatedchanges of the first representation of the one or more projections oflight in the first portion of the first computer-generatedthree-dimensional environment; and display alterations of an appearanceof a representation of a first surface in the respective portion of thephysical environment in accordance with the animated changes of therespective representation of at least one projection of light in the oneor more projections of light.